This study aimed to investigate dust and bacterial air contamination in a broiler house during different seasons. The study was carried out in commercial housing conditions during five weeks of the ...rearing cycle in summer and winter. The total dust concentration ranged from 1.90 to 4.50 mg/m3 in summer and from 2.80 to 5.10 mg/m3 in winter. The total bacterial count ranged from 2.85 × 104 to 1.03 × 105 CFU/m3 in summer and from 2.12 × 104 to 2.28 × 105 CFU/m3 in winter. The study results showed the dust concentration to be increased in winter as compared to summer, yielding a significant correlation (r = 0.602, p < 0.05) with a significantly higher airborne bacterial count in winter (p < 0.001). Furthermore, dust concentration showed significant correlations (p < 0.05) with air temperature (r = −0.418), relative humidity (r = 0.673), and broiler activity (r = 0.709), while bacterial count yielded significant correlations (p < 0.05) with air temperature (r = −0.756), relative humidity (r = 0.831), and airflow rate (r = 0.511). The results obtained in the study can prove useful in the field. Seasonal variability in dust and bacterial air contamination should be considered in the development of guidelines or standards of air quality in broiler housing and evaluation of the effectiveness of remedial strategies.
This study aimed to compare fungal contamination of poultry litter between warm and cold seasons. It was carried out in commercial production conditions over two five-week fattening periods: one in ...the summer (July-August) and one in the winter (December-January). Broilers were reared on a litter composed of chopped straw and sawdust. Litter fungal concentration and composition were investigated weekly, along with litter temperature, moisture, and pH. Litter concentration of total fungi increased over both fattening periods, with no differences in median concentrations between them. Season also had no effect on yeast,
section
, and
,
, and
spp. concentrations, while the
section
and
spp. combined showed higher concentrations in the summer, and
and
spp. in the winter. Total fungal concentration highly correlated with litter temperature, moisture, and pH, regardless of the season. Our findings can be useful in the assessment and control of potential harmful effect of fungi on the health of poultry and poultry farm workers.
The effects of environmental enrichment were assessed at different stocking densities on fattening cattle welfare. The study included four groups of heifers observed during four-month final ...commercial fattening. The heifers were housed in non-enriched and enriched environments at low (n = 14; 4.5 m2/animal) and high (n = 19; 3.3 m2/animal) stocking density. Environmental enrichment consisted of a grooming brush and salt blocks. Heifer welfare was assessed using selected indicators from the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for cattle. The study results showed that the heifers housed at high stocking density used environmental enrichment materials significantly more frequently as compared with heifers housed at low stocking density (P<0.05), whereas there was no difference in their use of particular enrichment materials. The effect of environmental enrichment on heifer welfare was mainly manifested in a reduction in the expression of some forms of aggressive behaviour; therefore, this finding should encourage the use of enrichment materials such as those presented in this study which are commercially available, relatively inexpensive and simple to use.
This survey was the first one investigating opinions of veterinary students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, with special reference to dogs and cats as the most popular ...companion animals in the European Union. The study included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate veterinary medicine study programme in Croatia. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the course on animal welfare. Student opinions were assessed on the basis of their mean responses to five-point Likert scale questions and frequency of responses to Yes/No/I do not know questions and ratio scale questions. Study results revealed students to have strongly positive opinions towards companion animals and their welfare. The majority of student statements did not differ significantly between the first and sixth study years or before and after having attended the animal welfare course in the first study year, mostly yielding a straight, non-fluctuating line. Students were not sure whether welfare of companion dogs and cats was compromised. Study results pointed to reliable and reasonable opinions of veterinary medicine students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, as well as to the welfare issues these species may be facing nowadays.
Mačke su među najbrojnijim kućnim ljubimcima Zapadnog svijeta. Mačke kao kućni ljubimci ovise o vlasniku i često su zbog neznanja i neinformiranosti o njihovim vrsno/pasminsko specifičnim potrebama ...izložene stresnim podražajima. U ovom radu sažeti su najčešći i najistaknutiji čimbenici i problemi dobrobiti mačaka - kućnih ljubimaca. Glavni uzroci narušene dobrobiti mačaka najčešće su neprikladni smještaj i hranidba, uz nemogućnost izražavanja vrsno karakterističnog ponašanja. Takvi uvjeti mogu rezultirati bolestima, poremećajima u ponašanju ili neželjenim ponašanjima. Zbog neznanja i neinformiranosti o njihovim vrsno/pasminsko specifičnim potrebama potencijalno vlasnici bi se prije nabavke mačke trebali informirati o njezinim potrebama kako bi joj osigurali dobro fizičko i mentalno zdravlje.
This study aimed to identify the opinions and knowledge of Croatian veterinarians-to-be relating to exotic pet birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and their welfare. A total of 589 (87%) veterinary ...students from all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study programme were surveyed in the 2019-2020 academic year. Student opinions and knowledge were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale and the following statements: the level of cognition, sentience and welfare compromise in pet animals observed; the importance of biological functioning, emotional states and natural living for their welfare; their acceptability as pets and owner awareness; the level of risk posed by these pet animals to other animals, public health and safety, and the environment; and the level of knowledge students considered themselves to have about their feeding, housing, health and behaviour. Students provided neutral responses to or disagreement with most of the statements, in particular for animals other than birds, with no significant differences between study years. Accordingly, the study results point to the need for additional student education on exotic non-mammal pets, and can serve for the upgrading of the veterinary curriculum in the field, having implications not only for the welfare of these animals but also for other animals, public health and safety, and environmental protection.
OBJECTIVE:The noninvasive biomarkers of respiratory impairment were assessed in 15 swine confinement (SC) workers and 9 respiratory healthy, nonsmoking volunteers (HV).
METHODS:Spirometry, fraction ...of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH were assessed in SC workers after one working shift and one working week and in HV after 5-hour exposure in SC.
RESULTS:Half of the respiratory symptoms (in 8 of 15 SC workers) were work-related. Basal FeNO values were 7.5 ppb higher in the SC workers compared with HV. In the SC workers, EBC pH increased for 0.17 at the end of a working week (P < 0.001). In HV, 5-hour exposure in SC induced 8% drop in forced expiratory flow at 25% of the pulmonary volume (FEF25) (P = 0.008), EBC pH drop for 0.10 units (P = 0.003), and FeNO drop by 1.8 ppb (P = 0.047).
CONCLUSIONS:EBC pH was suggested as a biomarker of acute airway acidification in HV, whereas the SC workers showed signs of the “healthy worker effect.”
Purpose
The aim of the study was to evaluate exposure to moulds and house dust mite
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus
in poultry farms, and related health effects in poultry workers (PW).
Methods
The ...study involved 41 PW and 45 control office workers. Working environment was evaluated for
D. pteronyssinus
allergen (Der p 1), moulds and endotoxin. In workers, eye, skin and respiratory symptoms, ventilatory lung function, atopy markers (skin prick test to inhalatory allergens, total IgE) and specific IgG to moulds were assessed.
Results
Der p 1 levels ranged <0.1–3.3 μg/g, exposure to fungi was 4.9 × 10
3
–6.8 × 10
4
cfu/m
3
, with prevailing
Aspergillus
,
Penicillium
and
Mucor
species, and endotoxin levels ranged 230–284 EU/m
3
. In comparison to control subjects, significantly higher prevalence of work-related nose, asthma, eye and skin symptoms, and slight decline in ventilatory lung function was found in PW. PW had significantly higher prevalence of IgG antibodies to moulds comparing to controls (63 vs. 36%, respectively,
P
= 0.01), especially to
Alternaria
and
Aspergillus
species. The prevalence of atopy markers in PW was lower than in population-based studies.
Conclusions
Hazardous levels of Der p 1, endotoxin and moulds were determined in poultry houses. High prevalence of work-related symptoms and IgG antibodies to moulds was found in PW. Healthy worker effect is proposed as an explanation of low atopy markers prevalence among PW.
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