Mycotoxins and Salmonella in Poultry Production: A One Health Assessment of Co-occurrence, Risk Factors and Food Safety in Ethiopia
PhD candidate: Yadessa, Tadele Kabeta
Curriculum
Tadele Kabeta Yadessa has been a PhD researcher in the NASCERE sandwich program at Ghent University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, within the Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology, and Zoological Medicine, since September 2021. He obtained his MSc in Veterinary Public Health (VPH) in 2013 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 2010, both from Jimma University, Ethiopia. Later, he completed a second bachelor’s degree in Health Education and Behavior Science from the Faculty of Public Health at Jimma University in 2020. With over a decade of professional experience, he has been involved in research, teaching, and community service in the fields of veterinary medicine and food safety at Wollega and Jimma Universities. His doctoral research focuses on assessing the co-occurrence, risk factors, and food safety challenges associated with mycotoxins and Salmonella in poultry production in Ethiopia, utilizing a One Health approach. Tadele has participated in various training courses designed for doctoral students that have enhanced his professional development. He is the author or co-author of several publications in internationally peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to numerous national and international research conferences, delivering both oral and poster presentations.
Supervisors: Prof. dr. Gunther Antonissen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UGent - Prof. Tadele Tolosa, Jimma University, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma, Ethiopia
Short description:
Mycotoxin exposure and Salmonella contamination remain major public health and food safety challenges worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions where poultry production often operates under resource-limited conditions. These hazards contribute substantially to economic losses and pose serious threats to poultry health as well as to consumers of poultry products. Ethiopia represents a high-risk setting, characterized by a rapidly expanding poultry sector alongside persistent constraints related to feed quality, biosecurity, and disease control. Within this context, the overall aim of this doctoral research was to generate an integrated understanding of the occurrence, drivers, and consequences of mycotoxin contamination and Salmonella infection in Ethiopian poultry production systems, with a particular focus on Jimma town and its surroundings. To achieve this aim, the research combined systematic evidence synthesis, field-based epidemiological assessments, farmer surveys, advanced analytical method development, and comprehensive exposure and risk characterization.
Practical:
Date: Monday 16 March 2026, 17:30
Location: Auditorium Maximum, Salisburylaan 100, 9820 Merelbeke
If you would like to attend, please register before March 2, 2026, by email to TadeleKabeta.Yadessa@UGent.be