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The Impact Of ADDL On the State of Indiana
Strategies reduce Salmonella
infections in Indiana’s chicken
industry
Every year 1,000 people in the United States die from salmonellosis, a gastrointestinal disease caused by contamination by one of the 200 types of Salmonella bacteria found in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 40,000 human cases are reported annually; 20 times that many actually occur. |
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Salmonella can infect any animal and can be passed from human to human, animal to human, animal to animal.
It can be caused by eating food contaminated with feces or by eating animal products that were exposed to the bacteria and not properly cooked. This includes chicken eggs, which can be contaminated by the hens.
For ADDL experts, reducing the probability of Salmonella-caused diseases in chickens was essential for Indiana, which is the second largest egg producing state in the country. Zheko Kounev, an ADDL poultry diagnostician and food safety specialist, visited poultry operations throughout the state and tailored monitoring programs for each operation. His recommendations included vaccinations and testing of day-old chicks for disease. Kounev also emphasized the importance of clean chicken houses, since insects, rodents and wild birds can transmit Salmonella bacteria. Kounev pioneered the use of natural intestinal microorganisms, called probiotics, in chickens to inhibit disease-causing pathogens. These precautions have reduced the incidence of septicemia and enteritis in chickens. Not only has this helped reduce cases of human foodborne illness, it also has aided in increasing Indiana poultry and egg production, making the state more competitive in national markets.
ADDL helps eradicate Pseudorabies in Indiana
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted Indiana National Pseudorabies Eradication Program Stage V status (pseudorabies free). Decades of has eradicated this costly disease of pigs in Indiana.
This teamwork by ADDL personnel, livestock producers, Indiana veterinarians, Indiana Board of Animal Health, and USDA staff resulted in Indiana’s pseudorabies-free status.
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ADDL plays major role investigating and preventing West Nile disease
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| West Nile virus reached Indiana in 2002; there were 287 confi rmed human cases with eight deaths and 703 known cases in horses, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. ADDL Director Leon Thacker helped the Governor’s West Nile Task Force investigate the high numbers of equine cases of the mosquito-borne disease in southwestern and northwestern sections of Indiana. |
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Thacker and his task force colleagues traveled to the hardest hit areas to identify factors contributing to the outbreaks and to suggest preventative measures. He also worked with his ADDL team to determine which horse deaths could be attributed to West Nile virus, and to examine birds and other animals that were suspected of falling victim to the disease.
Disease monitoring in fish helps protect valuable natural resources
Game fishing provides Indiana residents with recreational opportunities and the state with revenue from tourism. But diseased fi sh can temper fi shermen’s enthusiasm for utilizing Indiana’s lakes and rivers and damage this important industry.
ADDL assists the Great Lakes Fish Health Commission in monitoring fish diseases. ADDL pathologist Randy White conducted fish health inspections and traveled to nine hatcheries in the state to determine the most suitable fi sh disease diagnostic tests. The diseases of concern for game fi shing and for which ADDL tested include whirling disease, bacterial kidney disease, and infectious pancreatic necrosis. When fi shermen fi nd diseased fi sh, they can alert the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The DNR sends fi sh to the ADDL to learn if they died from a disease or environmental factors. This monitoring and diagnostic testing carried out at the ADDL facilities on the Purdue University campus has helped the DNR improve Indiana’s game fishing.
Dr. Leon Thacker
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ADDL is
located on
the campus of
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2002 & 2003 Annual Report 
