VIDO starts vaccine work to fight threat of Campylobacter jejuni

Posted May 03, 2001


VIDO starts vaccine work to fight threat of Campylobacter jejuni

Saskatoon Sask., May 1, 2001: Controlling Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni)
before it becomes an even bigger food-borne disease and water quality threat
has prompted a new vaccine research project by the Veterinary Infectious
Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

C. jejuni is a bacterium that colonizes food-producing animals, including
poultry, and causes food poisoning in humans. Contaminated water can also be
a factor in transmitting the bacteria. Especially at risk are the elderly
and those with weakened immune systems. C. jejuni is also associated with a
neurological disease in humans called Guillain-Barré ³yndrome, which is
often fatal.

"This bacteria has no effect on poultry, but it's transmissible from
infected meat to humans if the meat is not handled and cooked properly,"
says Bacteriologist Dr. Brenda Allan, a VIDO Senior Scientist. "At VIDO, we
are trying to understand C. jejuni and develop a vaccine to halt or greatly
reduce its colonization in poultry."

To develop a vaccine, Allan and her team will delve into the genetic makeup
of the bacteria using state-of-the-art genomic technologies. "We want to
understand the organism and how it colonizes birds differently than humans,"
she says. "Why is it that chickens don?t get sick from it, but people do?"

The answer to that question may lie in the genes, says Allan. "We?ll
investigate which genes in the bird gut are turned on and off when infected
with the bacteria and how that differs from the situation in humans."

Not all poultry are infected with the bacteria, she adds. But in processing,
a few infected birds can contaminate the rest.

With increased public emphasis on food safety and the accompanying tighter
regulations that are already appearing in the U.S., it?s important the
industry acts now to control organisms such as C. jejuni, says Allan. "The
perception among people in the industry is that government regulations in
most countries, including Canada, are only going to tighten more with regard
to the bacterial numbers allowed in meat sold for human consumption."

Though C. jejuni does not affect the production side of raising poultry,
it?s an issue the industry is mindful of at all levels, says Allan, and VIDO
recognizes the importance of dealing with food safety issues at all levels
of the food production system.

As well, further research into C. jejuni will bring increased knowledge
about the bacteria and how to control it using other means besides
vaccination. "We do know that proper handling and cooking practices guard
against the bacteria infecting humans and that is something that needs to be
communicated as well," she says.

The research is funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada NCE Program through the Canadian Bacterial
Diseases Network (Calgary, Alberta) and the Poultry Industry Council.

VIDO is a global leader in food animal and poultry vaccine research and is a
wholly-owned University of Saskatchewan not-for-profit research institute.
It operates with significant support from the Government of Alberta and the
Government of Saskatchewan.

Information about VIDO is available at http://www.vido.org.

For more information, contact:

Stuart Bond
Associate Director (Marketing and Business Development)
Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
Phone: (306) 966-7474
Fax: (306) 966-7478
E-mail: bonds@sask.usask.ca