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<ol> <LI>Focus on emerging diseases- Identify, characterize and develop improved detection methods related to newly recognized, novel or emerging causes of zoonotic enteric disease and enteric pathogens of cattle and swine. <LI>Focus on effective interventions- Develop and improve interventions and preventative measures to reduce the incidence and prevalence of infections of cattle and swine with enteric and food borne disease agents. <LI>Focus on disseminating knowledge- Provide training and continuing education opportunities and dissemination of information to students, producers, veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories. </ol>
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: 1) Most food-borne illness events are of undefined etiology, stressing the need for identification and characterization of novel, emerging, or previously unrecognized agents, which undoubtedly account for many of these cases. 2) Most of the known bacterial, viral and parasitic food-borne disease agents are primarily zoonotic in nature. 3) Several of these agents are also severe pathogens of animals or have close relatives that are animal pathogens, such that investigation of the host-parasite relationship in animal models or in fact in the animal populations themselves will be informative regarding the host-parasite interactions in humans. Focus on emerging or currently unrecognized agents that result in food-borne human illness or enteric diseases of domestic animals, proposing research on the identification, characterization and development of diagnostics for emerging or currently unrecognized agents. Development of effective and practical interventions to reduce prevalence of agents already characterized to be of major importance in food safety and / or animal health, based on research on the ecology of the agents and their epidemiology and population dynamics in animal reservoirs. - Provide training and continuing education to disseminate knowledge regarding new and emerging agents and interventions effective at reducing enteric disease agent incidence and prevalence.<P>APPROACH: The inclusion of non-digestible carbohydrates in the diet not only serve as nutrient sources for bacteria but influence the entire gastrointestinal ecosystem. Stimulation of certain groups of bacteria may occur as a result of the inclusion of substrates in the diet. The inclusion of bovine milk casein digest in the diet selectively stimulated the growth of Bifidobacteria. In contrast the inhibitory effects of short-chained fatty acids and other pH reducing metabolites on the growth of several strains of gastrointestinal bacteria. In cattle the switch from a high starch diet to one including non-digestible carbohydrates resulted in a significant decrease in E. coli (biotype 1) in 4 days, indicating that the diet can have a significant and rapid influence on the potential pathogens residing in the gut. Significant improvements in ammonia production from swine as been linked to the inclusion of fermentable carbohydrates such as soybean hull and sugar beet. These effects have been associated with an increase in VFA concentrations with a resultant decrease in pH and ammonia emission. Diet composition also effects the gastrointestinal tract of the host animal. The use of oligosaccharides for pathogen control stems from several studies examining the use of simple sugars such as lactose or mannose to reduce pathogen infection. The mechanisms involved in these phenomenon include: the lowering of intestinal pH and the alteration of the volatile fatty acid (VFA) profile in the intestine or the occupying of mannose-specific receptors that exist on certain pathogens to mediate their adherence to the intestinal epithelium.