The Quest to Develop Effective Salmonella Vaccines for Humans and Poultry

In the global fight against foodborne illness, few pathogens are as pervasive or as problematic as Salmonella. This bacterium causes an estimated 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths each year in the United States alone, with an economic burden exceeding $3.7 billion . Globally, the picture is even grimmer, with approximately 93 million non-typhoidal Salmonella infections and 155,000 deaths annually. For decades, the primary defenses have been food safety measures and antibiotic treatments, but the relentless rise of antimicrobial resistance is forcing a strategic shift. Scientists are now racing to develop a new generation of vaccines, aiming to protect both humans from illness and poultry flocks from becoming reservoirs of infection in the first place. This tw