Clouds, (fowl) Cholera and Contigs

Animal science seminar

Fowl cholera is caused by the iconic bacterium Pasteurella multocida, an organism that heralded the dawn of the sciences of bacteriology and vaccinology. This presentation will overview the work performed in the last decade in the laboratories of QAAFI/DAF (and our collaborators) on methods to characterize and type this key pathogen. This work has advanced our understanding of the organism and the means to control the disease. However, the work has revealed that a far deeper knowledge is required to fully control disease outbreaks. There is a need to understand the genetic diversity (the clouds and the contigs of the title) that underpins the ability of this organism to evade vaccine protection and the activity of antimicrobial agents. The presentation will finish with an overview of our newly commenced industry-funded project in which we will use whole genome sequencing to improve our ability to control the emerging problem of fowl cholera in the growing free range poultry production systems.

Dr Pat Blackall

Pat Blackall is a veterinary microbiologist who has more than 30 years of experience working on the bacterial pathogens of intensively housed livestock.  His laboratory acts as a national and international reference centre for a number of the key respiratory bacterial pathogens that cause significant losses to pigs, poultry and cattle.  His research work has covered taxonomy, novel diagnostics, molecular epidemiology and the development of vaccines.  Pat has extensive experience working in laboratory and field situations in Europe, Asia and the Americas.