Salmonella in Broiler Litter and Properties of Soil at Farm Location

Abstract

Contamination of litter in a broiler grow-out house with Salmonella prior to placement of a new flock has been shown to be a precursor of the flock's Salmonella contamination further down the production continuum. In the southern USA, broiler grow-out houses are primarily built on dirt pad foundations that are placed directly on top of the native soil surface. Broiler litter is placed directly on the dirt pad. Multiple grow-out flocks are reared on a single litter batch, and the litter is kept in the houses during downtime between flocks. The effects of environmental determinants on conditions in broiler litter, hence Salmonella ecology within it, has received limited attention. In a field study that included broiler farms in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas we assessed Salmonella in broiler litter at the end of downtime between flocks, i.e. at the time of placement of a new flock for rearing. Here we utilized these results and the U.S. General Soil Map (STATSGO) data to test if properties of soil at farm location impacted the probability of Salmonella detection in the litter. The significance of soil properties as risk factors was tested in multilevel regression models after accounting for possible confounding differences among the farms, the participating broiler complexes and companies, and the farms' geographical positioning. Significant associations were observed between infiltration and drainage capabilities of soil at farm location and probability of Salmonella detection in the litter.

Critical Segments in the Dissemination and Transmission of Salmonella Species from Poultry Production in Calabar, Nigeria

“…In USA, a prevalence rate of 29% was reported from poultry litter [25], Liljebjelke et al, recorded 21.8% in Georgia [19] and 2% in Jamaica [21]. However, this study recorded high (70.6%) rate of recovery of Salmonella isolates from the poultry litter/faeces sample points (E3) in Calabar.…”

Development and validation of a drag swab method using tampons and different diluents for the detection of members ofSalmonellain broiler houses

“…Several authors have described the use of gauze strips as effective drag swabs (Pope & Cherry, 2000;Buhr et al, 2007;Volkova et al, 2010). However, gauze strips need to be sterilized, either through dry or moist heat, and then transported to the respective farm.…”

Utilization of a novel autologous killed tri-vaccine (serogroups B [Typhimurium], C [Mbandaka] and E [Orion]) forSalmonellacontrol in commercial poultry breeders

“…The objectives behind developing and using a multivalent vaccine were to reduce carriage and shedding of otherwise prevalent salmonellas, and, potentially, to protect the progeny from egg contamination and from colonization by low-level (B100 CFU) environmental and/or feed exposure (Anonymous, 2004;Franco, 2005;Volkova et al, 2009). To be suitable for use in industry, a vaccine must be safe for poultry and other species, and not interfere with detection of Salmonella, as well as effective in eliminating shedding and enhancing clearance (Anonymous, 2004).…”