Editorial

We live in an era when public concern over the safety of our food supply has never been greater. Control of Salmonella, a leading cause of human food poisoning, is one of the highest priorities. Poultry is not the only possible source of salmonellosis, but it is known to be a major global reservoir of salmonellas.

In the late 1980s, various countries experienced an alarming increase in Salmonella food poisoning from the consumption of contaminated eggs and poultry meat. Public health authorities described the phenomenon as a pandemic. It soon became a major political issue, with damaging consequences for both the Industry and consumer confidence in poultry products. The crisis was not without some benefit. The Salmonella question came into sharper focus and better control strategies have been developed.There is now a stronger motivation to apply these control strategies.

In some countries, considerable progress has been made in reducing Salmonella colonisation of poultry flocks, with a parallel decline in the contamination of poultry products and therefore human food poisoning. Such improvements have not been achieved easily. Salmonellas are widely distributed in nature, they are commonly carried by a variety of wild-animal vectors, and young poultry are particularly susceptible to infection. Effective control depends upon a number of factors, including improved on-farm biosecurity, use of ‘best practices’ in husbandry and application of biological intervention measures, such as vaccination. It is in this last category that Intervet has made major contributions to the armoury now available to industry for Salmonella control.

The purpose of the website is to increase awareness of the issues involved and the products that have been developed. The website is also intended as a source of information on all relevant scientific advances in a key area that relates to both human and avian health.

Geoff Mead