Research interests

• Veterinary diagnostic microbiology
• Honey bee diseases
• Food safety

Background

Michael Hornitzky holds the position of Team Leader Food Safety and Diagnostics, and is a principal research scientist.

He joined NSW Agriculture* in 1976 as a research officer (bacteriologist). He has been responsible for the diagnostic veterinary microbiology carried out in the Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Menangle since its inception. Michael is the author of a number of Australian and New Zealand Standard Diagnostic Techniques.

Michael has been involved in the diagnosis and research of honey bee diseases for more than 30 years. A main focus of his work has been the study of American foulbrood for which he was awarded his PhD. He has also spent 6 years as a member of the Rural Industries Research Development Corporation’s Honeybee Research & Development Committee.

Michael has also been involved in the study of foodborne pathogens in domestic animals including cattle, sheep and poultry.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• B.Sc (Microbiology) – University of New South Wales 1976 
• M.Sc. (Honey bee diseases) – University of New South Wales 1986 
• PhD   (American foulbrood) – University of New South Wales 1997

Current projects

• Development of PCR for microbiological diagnostics in the Regional Veterinary Laboratory system
• Treatment options for European foulbrood (a bacterial disease of honey bees)
• Does Nosema ceranae infect bees and contaminate honey in Australia?

Recent Publications

Saunders, V.F., Reddacliff, L.A., Berg, T. and Hornitzky, M (2007) Multiplex PCR for the Detection of Brucella ovis, Actinobacillus seminis and Histophilus somni in Ram Semen. Australian Veterinary Journal 85: 72-77.

Mohler, V.L., Heitoff, D.M., Mahan, M.J., Walker, K.H., Hornitzky, M., McConnell, C.S, Shum, L.W.C.. and House, J.K. (2006) Cross-protective immunity in calves conferred by a DNA adenine methylase deficient Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine. Vaccine 24(9): 1339-1345.

Hornitzky, M and Ghalayini, A (2006) Honey produced from genetically modified (GM) canola (Brassica napus) nectar will not need to be labelled as a GM food under current Australian guidelines. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46: 1101-1104.

Berg, T., Morrice, G., Suddes, H. and Hornitzky, M (2006) Comparison of PCR, culture and microscopy of blood smears for the diagnosis of anthrax in sheep and cattle. Letters in Applied Microbiology 43: 181-186.

Hornitzky, M.A., Mercieca, K., Bettelheim, K.A. and Djordjevic, S.P. (2005) Bovine feces from animals with gastrointestinal infections are a source of serologically diverse atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli that commonly possess intimin. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71(7): 3405-3412

Wu, X., Chin, J., Ghalayini, A and Hornitzky, M (2005) Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing and oxytetracycline sensitivity of Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae isolates of Australian origin and those recovered from honey imported from Argentina. Journal of Apicultural Research 44(2): 87-92. 

McKee, B.A, Djordjevic, S.P, Goodman, R.D and Hornitzky, M.A. (2003) The detection of Melissococcus pluton in honey bees (Apis mellifera) and their products using a hemi-nested PCR. Apidologie 34: 19-27.

Bettelheim, K.A., Hornitzky, M.A., Djordjevic, S.P. and Kuzevski, A. (2003) Antibiotic resistance among Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and non-VTEC isolated from domestic animals and humans. Journal of Medical Microbiology 52: 1-8.

Brett, K.N, Ramachandran, V, Hornitzky, M.A, Bettelheim, K.A, Walker, M.J and  Djordjevic, S.P (2003) stx1c is the most common Shiga toxin 1 subtype in serologically diverse Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli from sheep but not among isolates from cattle. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 41(3): 926-936.

Uzal F.A., Kelly, W.R., Thomas R., Hornitzky, M. and Galea, F. (2003) Comparison of four techniques for the detection of  Clostridium perfringens type D epsilon toxin in intestinal contents and other body fluids of sheep and goats. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations 15: 94-99.

Professional associations and activities

• Member of the Australian Society of Microbiology
• Member of the Australian Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians         

Research, Courses, Fields and Disciplines classification

• 270000 - Biological Sciences
• 300000 - Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Veterinary diagnostic microbiology
• Honey bee diseases
• Food safety

Contact details