ARS | Publication request: HATCHERY AIRBORNE CONTAMINATION OF CHICK TRANSPORT PADS

Submitted to: Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: One of 4 broiler hatcheries in a 1998 multi-state epidemiology study was identified as having extremely high Salmonella contamination (190/198, 96%) of its chick transport pads. This study was conducted to determine if this hatchery continued to have high levels of Salmonella contamination of its transport pads and if so to determine the source of this contamination. Chick transport pads were found to be positive for Salmonella 75% of the time after transport of birds to the farm, 100% of the time in the hatchery after birds had been on them for 1 to 2 hours, 98% of the time from their holding area in the vaccination room, and even 85% of the time from the room the unused pads were stored in after receipt at the hatchery. Follow-up studies found that the Salmonella was being spread throughout the hatchery through the air as air from the vaccination room, hallway, storage room, hatch room and egg room were Salmonella positive 100%, 100%, 70%, 80%, and 70% of the time respectively. As a control, a similar study was conducted in a different commercial hatchery. From this hatchery Salmonella was only found from 13% of transport after birds were transported to the farm, from 7% of the unused pads in the storage area, and from 3% of the air samples collected throughout the hatchery. These findings identify the control of air handling and air movement within the hatchery as critical in the development of good production practices for the hatchery.