Vets treat chickens to prevent foodborne illness

“If you have an animal that’s sick and you can’t give it medicine, what do you do? Do you just let it die?” asks poultry veterinarian Dr. Samantha Pohl.

“If it’s something I can cure, it’s immoral of me to not be able to treat those animals. That’s inhumane.”

In the latest episode of Vets on Call, Dr. Pohl and Dr. Chuck Hofacre of the University of Georgia visit a broiler farm to examine the flock’s response to a vaccine. They also test the flock to confirm the absence of salmonella bacteria that could cause illness in humans.

Editor’s note: One of the veterinarians featured in this video, Samantha Pohl, passed away July 29, 2015. We are keeping this video posted as a tribute to her commitment to avian medicine.