Developing a vaccine for Campylobacter jejuni.

Many zoonotic (a pathogen passed from animals to humans) human pathogens can be carried in their animal host without the host experiencing any symptoms of disease.

This limits the effectiveness of vaccination in the host to prevent transmission to humans or other susceptible hosts.

An example of such a pathogen is Campylobacter jejuni, a significant pathogen of humans causing gastro-intestinal disease including vomiting and diarhorrea, which resides in the digestive system of the chicken.

For over 20 years, multiple groups have tried to develop a vaccine for C. jejuni with no success.

In this project, we will use a bacterial vector that can survive in the digestive tract where C. jejuni resides. The bacterial vector will stimulate what is called an “artificial immune response” which will result in an immune response against C. jejuni. This helps to reduce the bacterial colonisation and in effect reduce the transmission of infection to humans.

If successful, the project will build on this work to develop a species-interchangeable platform in artificial immunity against pathogens residing in the gastrointestinal tract of animals.

Project lead: Dr Meg Manohar