New Delhi, Jul 16 (IANS): Most Salmonella illnesses from raw chicken are caused by few products with high levels of virulent strains, according to a study.

The researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US, suggest regulation efforts to focus on detecting and preventing those types of high-risk contamination.

While the poultry industry has in the last two decades "lowered the frequency of Salmonella in poultry, the number of people who are getting sick from these pathogens has not declined," said study co-author Matt Stasiewicz, Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at the varsity.

More than 2,600 serotypes, or sub-groups, of Salmonella bacteria exist. Although Salmonella Kentucky is one of the most common serotypes in the US chicken, it is less likely to cause human illnesses. In comparison, three more virulent strains have been linked to multiple outbreaks of salmonellosis.

Using a mathematical method the team set different levels and serotype thresholds to estimate the risk of getting ill from each strain.

"The baseline calculations yielded an estimate of about two salmonellosis cases per 1 million servings of chicken consumed," according to the study published in the Journal of Food Protection.

Salmonella Kentucky showed less than 1 per cent of illness risk. But products with high levels of Enteritidis, Infantis, or Typhimurium serotypes showed 69 per cent to 83 per cent risk of illnesses.

The findings may help the poultry industry to improve its processes and to find strategies to manage it.

However, the researchers stressed that consumers should still follow food safety guidelines when preparing poultry, such as washing their hands, avoiding cross-contamination, and ensuring the meat is properly cooked.