The U.S. Poultry & Egg Assn. (USPOULTRY) Board Research Initiative is requesting pre-proposals in two areas: clostridial dermatitis in poultry and salmonella in poultry production systems. The deadline for pre-proposal submission is Nov. 2.

Clostridial dermatitis in poultry. Clostridial dermatitis, often called gangrenous dermatitis, is an important disease seen in chickens and turkeys, USPOULTRY said. The disease can lead to significant mortality losses and often requires the use of antibiotics in order to restore the health of an affected flock.

The pathogenesis of the disease and the management and environmental factors involved in the epidemiology of the disease are poorly understood, USPOULTRY noted.

According to the announcement, the areas of focus for the research are the identification of management and environmental factors that contribute to the development of clostridial dermatitis in chickens and/or turkeys, identification of the pathogens involved in clostridial dermatitis and development of measures to reduce the incidence of clostridial dermatitis in chickens and/or turkeys.

Salmonella in poultry production systems. Salmonella reading was not a serotype of foodborne illness concern associated with poultry products until appearing in certain turkey products in 2018, USPOULTRY said. The emergence of the serotype in the turkey industry through the production and processing chain suggests that the serotype has evolved with increased persistence. Salmonella can enter a turkey production system by multiple routes and may persist in flocks through slaughter and processing.

USPOULTRY said the transmission of salmonella from breeders to progeny is poorly understood, as are the factors that allow S. reading to persist in a production system once it is introduced. A greater understanding of S. reading will assist the turkey industry in mitigating the serotype and could potentially be helpful in reducing future evolved salmonella serotypes, according to the announcement.

The research areas of focus are: to improve the understanding of the transmission of salmonella from turkey breeders to progeny; to improve methods used to identify flocks that likely harbor specific salmonella isolates prior to slaughter; to identify the critical factors that allow S. reading isolates to persist in a turkey production system; to investigate factors that make S. reading potentially less susceptible to traditional processing interventions, and to develop strategies to reduce S. reading colonization in turkeys and reduce the prevalence of S. reading in turkey products.

For the full details on each Board Research Initiative, visit www.uspoultry.org, and click on “Research” and then “Board Research Initiatives (2020)” for complete instructions and deadlines.

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative was created by the boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation to address current issues facing the poultry industry. The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative operates alongside the current USPOULTRY comprehensive research program and augments the success of the existing program by focusing additional resources toward defined areas of research.

USPOULTRY and its foundation operate a comprehensive research program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $32 million in the industry in the form of research grants. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.