Bacteria Strains Infecting Cattle and Humans in US Are Highly Similar

Salmonella Dublin, a type of bacteria that primarily infects cattle but some strains also can adapt to infect humans, is increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, making it a growing public health threat, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers at Penn State investigated how strains of the pathogen — which can cause severe illness and death in cattle and blood infections and hospitalization in humans are evolving and spreading across humans, cattle and the environment in the United States.

In findings published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the researchers reported that despite some genetic differences across 2,150 strains of Salmonella Dublin, the bacteria remained highly similar.