Phages for the Replacement of Antibiotics, and Reduction of Salmonella, in Poultry Farms in Kenya

Globally, the poultry industry has increased by 5% every year for the past three decades, showing a higher growth rate than the pig (3%) and beef (1.5%) sectors. In Kenya, poultry farming represents about 30% of the total agriculture contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with an estimated 75% of rural families keeping chicken. Infectious diseases associated with poultry farming and egg production pose high risks to the poultry industry, as well as to the farmers’ and consumers’ health. The most responsible species for enteric disease in humans transmitted by poultry products is Salmonella enterica. Moreover, pullorum disease and fowl typhoid, caused by S. enterica serovars Pullorum (S. Pullorum) and Gallinarum (S. Gallinarum) respectively, have been listed by the FAO as the most important bacterial diseases affecting chicken health and productivity in Kenya. Current methods of controlling or preventing Salmonella infections in poultry farms include the use of antibiotics. Furthermore, according to a recent FAO report, an estimated 75% of antibiotics administered to poultry are released in the environment and contribute to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Alternative strategies are being sought to curb the problem associated with antimicrobial resistance. As such, there is a growing interest to explore the use of bacterial viruses or bacteriophages (phages).  
 
Due to the lack of knowledge and of prior reports on phage therapy in Kenya, the technology needs to be introduced and tested as viable, safe and effective. Therefore, the goals of the project are to optimize control measures to reduce antibiotic use as well as AMR Salmonella strains in Kenyan poultry farms by using available Salmonella-killing bacteriophages from the Félix d’Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses (www.phage.ulaval.ca) in Canada, as well as by using newly isolated phages from Kenya which have the capacity to kill Kenyan Salmonella strains. To that end, several naturally occurring phages with lytic activity against a range of Salmonella strains were isolated from chicken feces and water samples collected from various Kenyan poultry farms. Preliminary data suggest that phages able to infect and kill a strain of S. Pullorum could be successfully isolated. Currently, we are in the process of characterizing these newly isolated phages and the best candidates will be tested in a chicken model of pullorum disease in the near future.

Keywords: Bacteriophages, Salmonella, Pullorum disease, Poultry, Kenya.

Abstract presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Alternatives to Antibiotics 2019.