Year of Publication

2015

College

Public Health

Date Available

8-5-2015

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

Committee Member

Craig Carter, DVM

Advisor

David Mannino, MD

Committee Member

Steven Browning, Ph.D.

Co-Director of Graduate Studies

Wayne Sanderson, PhD, MS

Abstract

The group of bacteria known collectively as Salmonella has historically been a major cause of both health and economic hardships. In particular, Salmonella in bovine has been estimated to cause the economy to lose billions of dollars annually, both due to the increased morbidity and mortality rates of the cattle themselves and the indirect loss of potential profits, and also results in the spread of the bacteria to humans to ill effect. Salmonella thus can be quite taxing to agricultural communities, the animals upon which they rely, and the consumers that buy said communities’ commodities. Thus, the importance of an understanding of the prevalence and spread of bovine Salmonella in the state of Kentucky, a largely agricultural state that also is a major U.S. beef producer, cannot be understated.

In this study, we present an overview of the status of Salmonella in Kentucky bovine from 2003 to mid-2014. The University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Lab gathered the data via the voluntary collection of samples that are then analyzed using a variety of tests (PCR, serotyping, isolation, etc) performed in-house. We use descriptive statistics to examine the prevalence of these bacteria in bovine, along with the relative abundances of specific categories of the bacteria within the studies cattle population. This study hopes to gain insight into Salmonella in general, as well as aiding into the development and evolution of public health programs.

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