Talking turkey

By Caroline Cournoyer, staff writer
Posted on November 19, 2007

Everyone has something to be thankful for. And this Thanksgiving, the 22 million turkeys processed annually at the Cargill Turkey Production plantation in Harrisonburg have JMU students to thank.

At Cargill’s request, biology professor Louise Temple and her students have been working towards discovering the origin of bordetella avium, the widespread bacteria that causes bordetellosis in commercially grown turkeys worldwide.

“We are working with Cargill on this practicum because it is widespread in the turkey population,” Temple said. “It doesn’t kill them; it makes them sick.”

According to Temple, bordetellosis is similar to the whooping cough in humans. Many of the turkeys at the Cargill plantation suffer from it. However, if processed and digested, a human cannot be infected with anything toxic or harmful.

No vaccines or antibiotics currently exist to prevent or treat the disease in turkeys, which is why Temple and her students have worked so closely with Cargill’s veterinarians to determine the disease-causing factors of bordetella avium.

The cause of the bacteria is unknown but it appears that Cargill has no problem meeting sanitation standards, according to Temple.

“I was impressed… vets work very close with the farmers to insure that their methods are adhered to,” she said. “Their cleanliness methods are quite rigorous.”

The Cargill Meat Solutions factory in Dayton just five miles away received an environmental recognition award at the American Meat Institute International Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Convention and Exposition just last month, according to meatami.com.