A better understanding of how Salmonella spreads in and between cattle herds is important in maintaining and improving access for Australian beef to international markets, according to NSW DPI veterinary epidemiologist, Dr David Jordan.

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes diarrhoea, fever, and abdominal cramps and can pass from people or animals, to other people or other animals.

Salmonella-affected foods are often of animal origin, such as beef, poultry, milk, or eggs.

Undercooking contaminated meat is one of the risk factors for Salmonella infection in humans.

Dr Jordan said international markets for beef are increasingly looking at Salmonella as one of the world’s most important food-based pathogens.

He is about to go to Denmark to work for two months with researchers at the Royal Veterinary and Agriculture University of Denmark, building a model for the transmission of Salmonella in cattle herds.

"Denmark has an excellent reputation for successfully dealing with farm-based transmission of food-borne pathogens," he said.

"In the case of Salmonella, they have been taking extensive samples on farm and at abattoirs for several years.

"We will be analysing the data from that sampling to pick up any trends or patterns in the way Salmonella moves around in cattle.

"For example, we might identify the best way to measure the presence of the disease and target control measures."

In 1998, almost 6000 cases of human illness due to Salmonella were notified to the National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance Scheme; however the number of people ill due to Salmonella who don’t go to the doctor or get notified to the scheme could be 30 times that number.

"Poor food handling plays a major role in causing Salmonella illness but Salmonella levels on-farm are also a factor," Dr Jordan said.

"If we understand how Salmonella spreads in and between farms, we can better stop it spreading from farm to humans and reduce the risk of Salmonella causing illness in people."

"Currently, Australia has an excellent export reputation for the quality of its beef and dairy products, and recent red meat surveys here show Salmonella is at a very low level," he said.

"But to keep it that way and reassure our international markets, we need to keep Salmonella levels down and improve our understanding of how to do that."

Dr Jordan said the trip to Denmark, which is being funded by the Danish Food and Veterinary Institute, could help Australian farmers determine simple ways of controlling the pathogen in cattle.

"Identifying measures that may be taken on farm to reduce the impact of Salmonella is a potential outcome," he said.