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-BarrÈ syndrome, 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.

For more information, contact:

Stuart Bond
Associate Director, Producer Relations
Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
Phone: (306) 966-7474
Fax: (306) 966-7478