Presentation Title
Airborne S. aureus Transmission In Poultry
Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate public health risks associated with backyard chicken ownership and develop safer husbandry practices with local poultry owners. The number of small poultry flocks in the United States is increasing with very little regulation or oversight. While backyard chickens are most often bought as a sustainable feed source, they have the potential to be sentinels of environmental contamination and pose potential risk to both poultry and family. A specific objective of this study is to identify and deduce the commensal and pathogenic potential of airborne S. aureus transmission in backyard poultry. Further goals include quantifying respiratory health risk to humans and investigating the potential for host shifts within Staphylococcus aureus between poultry and humans. By understanding the dynamics of antibiotic resistance transmission, scientists and families will have better insight to better establish safe husbandry practices in the backyard poultry environment. Long-term outreach efforts will include scientific publication, presentations at local backyard chicken owner meetings, and communication with farmers about improving local biosecurity protocols.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. John Barlow
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Program/Major
Biological Science
Second Program/Major
Public Health
Primary Research Category
Biological Sciences
Airborne S. aureus Transmission In Poultry
The objective of this study is to investigate public health risks associated with backyard chicken ownership and develop safer husbandry practices with local poultry owners. The number of small poultry flocks in the United States is increasing with very little regulation or oversight. While backyard chickens are most often bought as a sustainable feed source, they have the potential to be sentinels of environmental contamination and pose potential risk to both poultry and family. A specific objective of this study is to identify and deduce the commensal and pathogenic potential of airborne S. aureus transmission in backyard poultry. Further goals include quantifying respiratory health risk to humans and investigating the potential for host shifts within Staphylococcus aureus between poultry and humans. By understanding the dynamics of antibiotic resistance transmission, scientists and families will have better insight to better establish safe husbandry practices in the backyard poultry environment. Long-term outreach efforts will include scientific publication, presentations at local backyard chicken owner meetings, and communication with farmers about improving local biosecurity protocols.