Design and evaluation of vaccines for the control of Campylobacter in poultry

Cosmin Chintoan-Uta, Robin Cassady-Cain, Peter Kaiser, David G.E. Smith, Nick Sparks, Mark Stevens

Research output: Contribution to conferencePoster

Abstract

Campylobacter is the main cause of foodborne diarrhoeal illness in humans in the developed world and it has been estimated
that 60–80% of cases are attributed to handling or consumption of chicken. Our previous studies have demonstrated that
caecal Campylobacter levels in chickens can be significantly reduced by oral vaccination with Salmonella Typhimurium ΔaroA
strains expressing the C. jejuni antigen CjaA. We evaluated an attenuated avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) expressing CjaA
as a TetC fusion, or TetC, relative to S. Typhimurium ΔaroA expressing the same antigens. APEC have lower zoonotic
potential and a commercially available APEC vaccine (PoulVac® E. coli) is used to control avian colibacillosis. In a single
trial, neither vaccine decreased caecal Campylobacter levels compared to mock-vaccinated controls, though antigen-specific
humoral responses were detected. To screen other candidate antigens, the surface-localised and immunogenic Campylobacter
proteins PorA, FspA1, CjaA, FliD and FlgE2 were cloned, expressed, purified as GST fusions and evaluated as subunit
vaccines in chickens. Although decreases in caecal Campylobacter counts of up to 1.5 log10 CFU/g were observed in the CjaA
and FliD groups at various time points, they were not statistically significant different from controls. Six other candidates
have been cloned, expressed and purified and further trials will assess their protective efficacy and seek to reproduce protective
effects observed with CjaA and FliD.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2013
Event17th International workshop on Campylobacter, Helicobacter and related organisms (CHRO) - Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Duration: 15 Oct 201519 Oct 2015

Conference

Conference17th International workshop on Campylobacter, Helicobacter and related organisms (CHRO)
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityAberdeen
Period15/10/1519/10/15

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Design and evaluation of vaccines for the control of Campylobacter in poultry'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this