Shot in the Shot in the arm for arm for spirochaete spirochaete research

NEW vaccines against intestinal spirochaete infections are on the horizon following an injection of funds from the Australian Research Council to Murdoch University researchers.

Professor David Hampson has been investigating these microbes that affect pigs for nearly 17 years, and has now teamed up with bioinformatics expert Associate Professor Matthew Bellgard to ramp up his research.

The bacteria being investigated cause dysentery or severe diarrhoea in pigs, and are developing increasing resistance to current microbial treatments.

Chickens and humans are also susceptible to infection with one of the species.

“We are using the funding to identify genome sequences of the microbes encoding proteins that could be used for vaccines,” Professor Hampson said.

“This new line of defence will result in improved animal health and production in rural Australia.”

The Murdoch University team is collaborating with Novartis Animal Health Australasia Pty Ltd on this project.