Campylobacter is the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea worldwide, and it is particularly detrimental to children under age two in developing countries. Globally, Kenya has the highest case fatality rate for campylobacteriosis, with children there being 88-fold more likely to die than infected children in the US. In addition, studies have shown that frequent diarrheal episodes in children have long-term impacts on physical growth rates, cognitive development, and school performance years later. A primary source of Campylobacter is contaminated poultry meat, with studies showing that up to 77% of retail meat samples in Kenya were contaminated with the bacteria. Antibiotics are frequently used in poultry feed, but these undoubtedly contribute to the reported Campylobacter drug resistance rates of &gt;70% in Kenya. Thus, alternatives to antibiotics are urgently needed to combat this public health problem. We are therefore developing a phage product to decontaminate poultry meat in Kenya. Phages are inexpensive, naturally occurring viruses that can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the FDA and USDA have approved phage products targeting other bacteria (e.g., Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli) for food decontamination. However, there is no phage product available for Campylobacter. We have previously demonstrated that feeding phages to chickens 24-48 hours before slaughter can reduce Campylobacter levels enough to decrease human infections by an estimated 30-fold, without affecting farm productivity. To date we have isolated 17 phages from chicken droppings and rectal swabs from poultry farms in Kenya. TEM analyses indicate that these phages are typical Myoviridae phage. DNA sequencing is ongoing, and host range analysis is being conducted against a panel of 70 Campylobacter strains isolated in Kenya. Based on these data we will select a subset of phages for further product development. Given the lack of a reliable cold chain in Kenya, we also aim to develop a product that will be stable under long-term, high-temperature storage conditions. Thus, we have developed a preliminary dry powder formulation for Campylobacter phages. In parallel, we have also conducted 51 focus discussion groups with a total of 377 Kenyan poultry farmers, with the goal of informing these stakeholders about the potential benefits of phages and also gaining input regarding how best to deliver a phage product in Kenya such that it will be socially accepted and utilized.

Development of a campylobacter phage product to decontaminate poultry meat in Kenya

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

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