Backyard chicken coops are on the rise and in many ways that is a good thing. However, one negative with this is that some chickens can carry various microbes that can make people sick and sometimes those microbes get to people and make them sick. CNN has a new story on the topic that may …
So we recently had two problems with a common solution: #1, we hadn’t had a lab social function in awhile #2, we wanted to try using the MinION sequencer in a “field” setting, but weren’t quite ready to try it without electricity on hand. The obvious solution, have the entire lab over to my house …
This paper may be of interest to some. Basically, the authors compared Salmonella levels in outdoor vs. indoor housing for chickens. The main push behind this appears to be the growing trend for having more outdoor housing for chickens and the question of whether or not that leads to higher levels of pathogens. See …
So I feel like this shouldn’t need to be said… but clearly it does. Don’t kiss chickens or bring them into your bedroom. Should my opinion not carry enough weight, simply check out this new report from the CDC “Outbreaks of Human Salmonella Infections Associated with Live Poultry, United States, 1990—2014”. Abstract below. Major highlights …
Microbes in the hospital Extreme Dysbiosis of the Microbiome in Critical Illness — Daniel McDonald — mSphere (OA) (…) A trial with prospective monitoring of the intensive care unit (ICU) patient microbiome using culture-independent techniques to confirm and characterize this dysbiosis is thus urgently needed. Characterizing ICU patient microbiome changes may provide first steps toward the …
Just a quick post here. Multiple stories out about the Laying Hen Housing Research Project by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply that maybe of interest. From: Hen housing trade offs: Food safety, workers and consumers | Food Safety News As it turns out, the food stores and restaurant chains promising to sell only cage-free eggs …
Just a quick post here on an NPR story that caught my attention “Giving Chickens Bacteria … To Keep Them Antibiotic-Free”. Unlike with humans where determining the effect of probiotics is complicated by a lot of variation in the population (genetic, cultural, diet, etc.), with a whole bunch of chickens it’s easier to measure the …
Not actually Danish chickens. (cc-by-nc river seal)One of the most coveted chores at my high school was to feed our school’s chickens. The chickens provided eggs for the students, faculty, staff and our extensive Meals on Wheels program. I always thought it was the best chore assignment you could ask for; the hen house had …
The built environment includes housing for livestock, which may have consequences for the transmission of zoonotic diseases in our food supply. Different animal housing strategies provide an ideal opportunity to test the effects of crowding and degree of confinement on the microbiology of built environments. In the case of egg-laying chickens, housing strategies include conventional cages, …