The infection of the swine herd with Salmonella and consequently, the presence of this micro-organism in swine products, has been a serious concern since it can be a great threat to the consumers themselves. Embrapa Swine and Poultry and UFRGS teamed up to develop tools and epidemiological studies that can characterize the problem, the contamination sources and the infection dynamics in the country's southern herds. This project aims to propose a systematic control of the Salmonella infection in the swine productive chain, by means of action plans coordinated and executed by various partners of Embrapa and universities, along with private finance initiative. With the aim to decrease the number of infected animals, oral treatments with prebiotics and probiotics, organic acid and bacteriophages in animals inoculated with Salmonella will be tested. Subsequently, the treatment with best results in the experimental phase will be validated by testings in pig farms. The factors of infection risk and residual contamination in the termination installations will be identified through observation studies, with the aid of epidemiological inquiries, serology and Salmonella research in the environment. With the intent to determine procedures for the production of Salmonella free feed, thorough analysis of critical sites in the industrial plants will be done. In slaughterhouses, the Salmonella contamination and dissemination sites will be evaluated and compared with carcass treatment experiments.

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