A new poultry litter disinfection methodology against pathogenic
Salmonella
spp. serovars using gaseous ammonia is proposed in this study. In the laboratory, the poultry litter was disposed into plastic containers and experimentally contaminated with 3
Salmonella
spp. serovars separately. Positive and negative control groups were tested. With a system of hoses, 1% gaseous ammonia was injected into the containers in cycles for 48 h. Samples of the poultry litter were collected and submitted to bacteriological analysis. For the second part, we selected a broiler poultry farm with positive litters for
Salmonella heidelberg
in 2 houses. The littler was treated by gaseous ammonia in a concentration of 2,411 ppm and wrapped with a plastic cover for 48 h during the sanitary break. After the treatment, a new broiler batch was housedand swab samples were collected in the 25-day-old. After the action of the gaseous compound, there was no reisolation of the serovars, and the batches housed on the ammonia-treated litter no longer showed positive results for
Salmonella
. The total elimination of the pathogenic microorganisms by the new method suggests that the controlled use of ammonia gas in poultry litter may represent a viable disinfection technique.
The current techniques used in the disinfection of reused poultry litter, such as lime addition, windrowing and plastic cover on the surface, do not guarantee the elimination of pathogenic microorganisms, causing damage to the environment and animal health. Gram negative bacteria, i.e., Salmonella and Escherichia coli, can be transmitted from one batch to another through reused litter, causing health damage to broilers and humans that consume food contaminated by these agents. Our study assessed the effectiveness of the methods plastic cover on the surface (PCS) and plastic cover on the surface with ammonia gas injection (PCSAI) in the control of Gram negative bacteria. The results obtained, both in laboratory conditions (Experiment 1) and in the field (Experiment 2), demonstrate that the method PCSAI with 0.22% ammonia gas had a significant reduction (P<0.05) of Gram negative bacteria in the period of 48 hours This new methodology for disinfecting poultry litter will allow its reuse in a practical and safe way, improving the preservation of the environment, of the health of broilers and consumers of poultry products.
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