UK-News Wales-Stopping Salmonella in Wales

Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones has announced that a national programme to protect public health from Salmonella in poultry laying flocks of domestic fowl is due to come into force this month.

The programme will include updating and enhancing existing controls to reduce the number of cases in poultry by 10% annually.

Ms Jones said: “The proposed regulations will provide a framework for the National Control Programme (NCP) that details the phases of production which sampling and testing for the Salmonellas must cover.

“The programme will set a target for an annual reduction of at least 10% in the number of positive adult laying flocks, compared with the previous year. The starting baseline in Wales and for the rest of the UK, will be 8% prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium serotypes.

“The results of nationwide survey of commercial laying flocks carried out in 2004 –2005 showed that around 8% of layer flock holdings in the United Kingdom (UK) were infected with Salmonella enteritidis or Salmonella typhimurium. This demonstrates excellent progress of industry led initiatives to reduce Salmonella prevalence in laying flocks….more..