The old adage that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” may apply to a new vaccine project underway at Arizona State University, reports thepoultrysite.com.

Research scientist Melha Mellata is leading a USDA-funded project to identify targets that could lead to development of a vaccine against avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), as well as salmonella.

E. coli infections are a serious problem in the poultry industry, causing significant economic losses; there is concern in the scientific community that APEC strains could become an emergent food pathogen in people. Salmonella is harmless to chickens but is a major cause of food-borne illness in people.

“What if you could get one vaccine to fight against a group of bacteria?” Mellata said. “We came up with a project where we would protect chickens, not only from E. coli infection but also salmonella, and in doing so, improve human health.”

For the USDA project, Mellata and her team will ultimately attempt to shuttle APEC genes into salmonella bacteria in the hopes of triggering a protective immune response against both E. coli and salmonella. The project is due to be completed in 2010.

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