RESEARCH Salmonella Typhimurium i e

mated 155 000 deaths worldwide [1]. In European coun-tries, Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium (Salmonella Typhimurium) is the serovar most frequently isolated from slaughter pigs [2]. Pig carcass contamination with Salmonella Typhimurium can largely be attributed to persistently infected pigs [3]. In most cases, the bacterium will asymptomatically colonize pigs, resulting in a so called “carrier status” [4,5]. In the past, Salmonella infections in pig herds have bers of bacteria during the acute phase of infection and then become intermittently excreting carriers, sero-logical surveillance is perceived as a practical (high-throughput) and cost-effective alternative for monitoring Salmonella infection in pig herds [6-9]. After infection by a pathogen, the host’s immune sys-tem will respond through an innate and a subsequent adaptive immune response. The success of many persist-ing pathogens relies on their ability to resist, circumvent or counteract the host’s innate and/or adaptive immune responses. Several bacteria and viruses have developed pathways interfering with antigen presentation by the host’s immune system, for example by inhibition of * Correspondence