We are several weeks into our 2022 chick sampling and have so far we have processed 23 samples. We have found several positive so far, so we’re keeping an eye on things to see what happens! Of course, the vast majority of chick days are still to come, so it’s too soon to know if this year will be better or worse for Salmonella rates.
Sequencing of last year’s isolates is also in process, so we should soon start finding out what types of Salmonella the chicks and chickens from last year were infected. Why is this important? Not all types of Salmonella are likely to cause human illness. We’ll also be able to learn from the sequences whether or not these Salmonella have resistance to antibiotics and, if so, if they are resistant to medically-important antibiotics like Ampicillin. Stay tuned!