Center for Zoonoses Research at the University of Illinois
Veterinary Student Summer Training Program
2008 Mentor Profile
Yvette Johnson
Assistant Professor ,
Veterinary Clinical Medicine
Title
Project Description:
Yvette J. Johnson CZR 2008 Project Descriptions
Students may choose from the following on-going projects
: 1. U of I Dairy Herd and Poultry Flock Salmonella surveillance, risk factor assessment and control program. Background Information An outbreak of clinical salmonellosis occurred at the U of I dairy in fall of 2006 and an apparently unrelated outbreak occurred among roosters at the U of I poultry farm in fall 2007. Individual animal and environmental sampling is conducted for Salmonella surveillance and students will apply this data to the identification of risk factors for salmonellosis and development of Salmonella control measures for the farms.
2. Risk Factors for ovarian adenocarcinoma in U of I layer flock. Background Information Several studies have reported a high prevalence of ovarian tumors in chickens. As a result chickens have been identified as a potential model for human ovarian cancer. Limited work has been done however, to identify risk factors for ovarian cancer in hens. Previous research by our group and a CZR student found that among birds from the university flock, those that were OAC positive were 2.6 times more likely to test positive for lymphocytic leukosis using the antigen ELISA and 4.2 times more likely to have interstitial nephritis at necropsy. These findings indicate that within a high OAC prevalence population there may be viral risk factors associated with the occurrence of OAC. These findings may have important implications for the use of hens as a model for human ovarian cancer.
3. Transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus species between people and their pets. Background Information Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species (MRS) infections have been identified as a growing health concern for both humans and animals. Case reports and outbreak investigations have reported the transmission of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus between livestock, companion animal species, and humans however, little research has been done to quantify the risk and to identify risk factors for transmission of various resistant strains of Staphylococcus species among healthy humans and companion animals. Previous research by our group has found that those people that were MRS positive were twice as likely to have contact with a horse that was MRS positive (p<0.05). The summer project will involve sampling of people affiliated with the U of I-CVM and their dogs and cats.