March 21, 2007

Study shows probiotics can reduce salmonella in pigs
 

Researchers from Ireland found that treatment with probiotic bacteria reduced Salmonella infection in pigs and may have potential human applications, according to a report published by the US journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Salmonella is one of the major causes of food-borne gastroenteritis worldwide with an estimated 160,000 cases reported annually in the European Union alone.

Probiotics or live microorganisms are believed to promote a health benefit when administered in controlled amount and have emerged in recent years as an alternative method against bacterial infections.

Previous studies have focused largely on the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group and many have shown beneficial effects in small animal models with gastrointestinal infection.

In the study, pigs were divided into two groups, one of which received milk containing five LAB probiotic strains and the other, serving as a control group, received regular milk for 30 days. After 6 days of treatment, the pigs were orally medicated with Samonella enterica serovar Typhimurium after which their health and feces were monitored for 23 days. Pigs receiving probiotic treatment showed reduced incidence, severity, and duration of diarrhoea and decreased the numbers of Salmonella infection in faecal samples 15 days post-infection.