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The objective of this application is to develop a novel experimental paradigm to non-invasively monitor the progression of Salmonella within the physiological environment (digestive and lyphatic systems, etc.) of the living pig.
Using biophotonics to address a difficult experimental challenge, we have formulated the following Specific Aims. <ol> <li>To refine our "real time" monitoring techniques and validate them completely for further adaptation to feeder/market weight pigs;
<li>To adapt our techniques to the feeder and market weight pig for live animal imaging and/or post-mortem detection of resident bacterial colonies;
<li>To apply our methods to market pigs and evaluate the interaction between Salmonella exposure and handling/mixing stress in swine.</ol>
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The rationale for this study is that until we gain an understanding of how salmonella infects swine, production practices cannot be implemented to better manage swine in such a way as to decrease the incidence and severity of Salmonella infections.</p>