Orange peel products can reduce Salmonella populations in ruminants.

Salmonella can live undetected in the gut of food animals and be transmitted to humans. Animal diets can impact intestinal populations of foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella spp. Orange juice production results in a waste product, orange peel and orange pulp, which has a high nutritive value and is often included in cattle diets as a least-cost ration ingredient. Here we show that the inclusion of orange peel products reduced Salmonella Typhimurium populations in the gut of experimentally inoculated sheep. Sheep (n=24) were fed a cracked corn grain-based high grain diet that was supplemented with a 50%/50% (dry matter [DM], w/w) mixture of dried orange pellet and fresh orange peel to achieve a final concentration (DM, basis) of 0%, 10%, or 20% orange product (OP) for 10 days before inoculation with Salmonella Typhimurium. Sheep were experimentally inoculated with 10(10) colony forming units Salmonella Typhimurium, and fecal samples were collected every 24 h after inoculation. Sheep were humanely euthanized at 96 h after oral Salmonella inoculation. Populations of inoculated Salmonella Typhimurium were numerically reduced by OP treatment throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and this reduction only reached significant levels in the cecum (p<0.05) of sheep fed 10% OP diets. Apparent palatability issues decreased the consumption of OP in sheep fed 20% OP to intake levels below that of 10% OP (approximately 7% dry matter intake [DMI]/d feed refusal), thereby reducing the potential effects of OP feeding at this higher level. Our results demonstrate that orange peel and pellets are environmentally friendly and low-cost products that can be used as a pre-harvest intervention as part of an integrated pathogen reduction scheme.

Influence of exogenous melatonin on horizontal transfer of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in experimentally infected sheep.

The objective of the current research was to determine if exogenous melatonin would exert a "protective" effect on the gastrointestinal tract of sheep and prevent or reduce the horizontal transfer of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from experimentally infected to noninfected or "naïve" sheep. Sixteen cross-bred ewes were housed indoors and adapted to a high concentrate ration. Ewes were randomly assigned to one of four rooms and treatment (three ewes/room, six ewes/treatment) and received either control (gelatin capsule only) or melatonin (5.0 mg/kg body weight [BW]/d). Four additional ewes served as "carrier" sheep (one/room) and were experimentally infected via oral gavage with E. coli O157:H7. Three days post-challenge, carrier ewes were housed with naïve sheep and remained with them for the remainder of the experimental period. Treatments were administered to the naïve sheep 1 day prior to introduction of the carrier sheep and on each of the remaining 7 days of the experimental period. Fecal samples were collected via rectal palpation from the carrier sheep daily throughout experiment and from the naïve sheep daily for 5 days, starting 2 days following introduction of the carriers. On day 8 of the experiment, all ewes were euthanized and tissues from the rumen, ileum, cecum, colon, and rectum as well as their respective lumen contents collected. The carrier sheep quickly infected the naïve ewes, which had similar fecal concentrations as the carrier animals throughout the 5-day sampling period. Melatonin treatment had no effect (p > 0.10) on daily fecal shedding, luminal content concentrations, or in the percentage of gastrointestinal tract tissue positive for the inoculated strain of E. coli O157:H7.

Bacteriophage isolated from feedlot cattle can reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 populations in ruminant gastrointestinal tracts.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 can live undetected in the gut of food animals and be spread to humans directly and indirectly. Bacteriophages are viruses that prey on bacteria, offering a natural, nonantibiotic method to reduce pathogens from the food supply. Here we show that a cocktail of phages isolated from commercial cattle feces reduced E. coli O157:H7 populations in the gut of experimentally inoculated sheep. A cocktail of phages was used in order to prevent the development of resistance to the phages. In our first in vivo study we found that our cocktail of phages reduced E. coli O157:H7 populations in the feces of sheep (p < 0.05) by 24 hours after phage treatment. Upon necropsy, populations of inoculated E. coli O157:H7 were reduced by phage treatment in both the cecum (p < 0.05) and rectum (p < 0.1). In our second in vivo study, several ratios of phage plaque-forming units (PFU) to E. coli O157:H7 colony-forming units (CFU) were used (0:1, 1:1, 10:1, and 100:1 PFU/CFU) to determine the most efficacious phage dose. A 1:1 ratio of phage to bacteria was found to be more effective (p < 0.05) than either of the higher ratios used (10:1 or 100:1). Ruminal levels of E. coli O157:H7 were not significantly reduced (p > 0.10) in any of the studies due to relatively low inoculated E. coli O157:H7 ruminal populations. Our results demonstrate that phage can be used as a preharvest intervention as part of an integrated pathogen reduction scheme.

Effects of ractopamine HCl on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in vitro and on intestinal populations and fecal shedding in experimentally infected sheep and pigs.

The effects of the beta-agonist ractopamine, approved for use in finishing swine and cattle to improve carcass quality and performance, were examined on two important foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. Ractopamine, administered to sheep before and after oral inoculation with E. coli O157:H7, increased (P < 0.01) fecal shedding and tended to increase (P = 0.08) cecal populations of the challenge strain. Pigs receiving ractopamine in the diet and then experimentally infected with Salmonella Typhimurium, had decreased (P < 0.05) fecal shedding and fewer (P = 0.05) liver samples positive for the challenge strain of Salmonella. Pure cultures of E. coli O157:H7 (used in the present sheep study), E. coli O157:H19 (isolated from pigs with postweaning diarrhea), Salmonella Typhimurium (used in the present pig study), and Salmonella Choleraesuis were incubated with varying concentrations of ractopamine to determine if ractopamine has a direct effect on bacterial growth. No differences in growth rate were observed for either strain of E. coli or for Salmonella Typhimurium when incubated with increasing concentrations of ractopamine. The growth rate for Salmonella Choleraesuis was increased with the addition of 2.0 mug ractopamine/ml compared with the other concentrations examined. Collectively, these results indicate that ractopamine may influence gut populations and fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. Because ractopamine is currently approved to be fed to finishing cattle and swine immediately before slaughter, any potential for decreasing foodborne pathogens has exciting food safety implications.