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
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,
, 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.
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.
The impact of Dermanyssus gallinae infestation on poultry health and production has driven the poultry industry to look for efficient control measures to be incorporated in integrated pest management ...(IPM). Attempts have been employed to control, if not, eliminate the infestation which includes application of chemicals, implementation of biological and/or physical measures, vaccination, or use of plant-derived products (PDPs); or a combination of two or more of these measures. Chemical control, though efficient, has limitations such as the development of resistance in mite populations and safety issues concerning environmental residues and non-target organism toxicity. These limitations resulted in banning most of the previously applied synthetic acaricides; thus, attention has been directed to the potential of plant-derived products (PDPs). Among the PDPs reviewed, essential oils of bay, lime dis 5F, pimento berry, spearmint, cade, clove bud, penny royal, coriander, thyme, mustard, horseradish, sweet basil, peppermint and summer savourysavory results in up to 100% mortality by direct contact or fumigation. Whereas, garlic extract and essential oils of thyme, manuka, Eucalyptus citriodora and lavender produce mortality rates from 66% to -95.35% when applied directly or through spray. Three essential oils (penny royal, cinnamon bark and garlic) haves ovicidal effect by direct contact. Other PDPs have the potential to reduce mite population and reproduction rates. This paper reviews PDPs on their efficacy, mode of action and effect on target organisms, advantages, and limitations. RecognisingRecognizing the potentials and limitations of the different PDPs is important in formulating an effective product (combination of two or more PDPs) for the control of D. gallinae.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most common bacterial causes of infection in poultry farming. Whether the infection is localized or systemic, a primary or secondary disease, it is most ...frequently treated through the application of wide-spectrum antimicrobials. Excessive use of antimicrobials in agriculture is significantly contributing to the worldwide rise of antimicrobial resistance, but is also very expensive and often ineffective in the long term. Here, we present a case where a colibacillosis outbreak on a family farm of laying hens was treated using an autogenous vaccine. The birds had septicemia, cellulitis, and severe skin wounds. They were not vaccinated against E. coli, and did not receive any antimicrobials previously. E. coli strains were isolated from the daily mortalities on the farm and used for preparation of the vaccine. Each bird was given an intramuscular injection of the autogenous vaccine. The immunogenicity of the vaccine was tested by the determination of specific antibody levels in the sera of the birds using the in-house ELISA. Shortly after vaccination, the morbidity and mortality rates significantly decreased, and egg production was improved. The application of the autogenous vaccine served as a curative and preventive measure, and has proven to be a very efficient method of antimicrobial therapy.
Fungi are present in abundance in poultry housing. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of season and microclimate parameters in poultry housing on fungal flora in the air and broiler ...trachea in commercial fattening conditions. The study was conducted in summer and winter. Study results indicated seasonal impact and association between fungal flora composition in housing air and broiler trachea. However, the total fungal count in housing air was significantly higher in summer and in broiler trachea in winter, both significantly correlated with indoor relative humidity and ammonia concentration. There was no significant correlation between outdoor and indoor air temperature, relative humidity and airflow rate, respectively. Study results suggested that environmental determination of fungi should be accompanied by their determination in broilers. In addition, seasonal impact on fungal contamination should be associated with microclimate conditions in the poultry house rather than the season itself. The fungi detected and the results obtained have implications not only for broiler health but also for the health of humans working in such environments.
Poultry red mite (PRM),
, causes egg drop production, anemia and can be a vector in transmitting diseases. The PRM control mainly focuses on usage of the conventional chemical biocides. The objective ...of this study was to analyze the farmers’ perception regarding the impact, management and control of PRM in Macedonian layer farms. The data were collected with direct on-site visits using a unified questionnaire. In total, 29 poultry farms (28% of farms in the country), all with conventional cages, were part of this study. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and Naïve Bayes Classifier technique. In 30% of the poultry farms the farmers had observed that the flock was infested with PRM. In total, 32 different treatments against PRM were reported from the farmers, and three of them were non-biocide treatments. The most used biocides (17% of the farms) were crude oil, Formalin, Neopitroid
and disinfectants. The highest agreement regarding biocides application among the farms (38%) was before the production starts. Most of the farmers applied biocides routinely, before the infestation is evident (75%). The median costs for PRM treatment were 175€ per flock, higher in the infested farms 493±677€ compared to non - infested 100±71€, p<0.05. None of the Macedonian farmers included in the study was using monitoring method for PRM infestation, contributing to poor data records. This study highlights the need of developing unified strategy for PRM control included in the Integrated Pest Management in poultry layer farms.
Proteus anguinus (olm) is an amphibian endemic to underground cave systems of the Dinaric karst of Central Europe, adapted to a life in complete darkness. Recent studies have demonstrated the global ...decline of amphibians due to poorly understood microbiological diseases, emphasizing just how little is known about the natural microflora of amphibians. Not much is known about the olm’s microbiota in their cave habitats, and nothing is known about the microbiology of animals washed to the surface. This observational study describes the microbiological analysis of the skin, cloaca and oral cavity of six olms collected from their cave habitats, and 16 collected after being washed out by flows from two springs, to learn more about the olm’s normal microbiota and possible changes after contact with the different environmental conditions on the surface. Standard microbiological procedures, MALDI-TOF and Real-Time PCR were used for microbiological species identification. All animals tested negative for Ranavirus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans and Chlamydia spp. The most abundant fungi isolated were Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. The washed out animals showed a higher diversity of bacterial flora than those from cave habitats, with Acinetobacter johnsonii, Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus spp. and Janthinobacterium lividum as the most frequently identified isolates.
Mycoplasma synoviae (MS), despite its lower pathogenicity, has the ability to cause significant losses in poultry production but is usually underdiagnosed. In egg layer production, losses could be ...significant because of the drop in egg production and poor eggshell quality. Problems with colibacillosis and other infections secondary to MS have been continuously reported on Croatian egg layer farms. As a result, regular monitoring of flocks also included screening of the seroprevalence and molecular detection of MS using ELISA and qPCR tests, respectively. During monitoring, altogether 1135 samples were tested, including 1067 serum samples and 68 tracheal swabs, in a total of 126 flocks and 83 longitudinally merged flocks on 15 farms during the period from 2017 to 2021. The results showed a high general prevalence of MS with 86.6% positive layer farms, while grouped flock seroprevalence and prevalence were 98.6% and 85.7%, respectively. With age, seroprevalence and ELISA titers rise significantly compared to the rearing period, with a significant mutual correlation over the entire production period. Additionally, there is a significant correlation between ELISA titers and age in weeks. Several flocks covered longitudinally from the first week of age, over the rearing period to the end of production, showed low prevalence during the rearing period, with a later significant rise in titer and prevalence, which indicates the dominance of horizontal transmission during production. Overall results indicate the need for a prompt reaction regarding preventive measures, such as better flock management, biosecurity and vaccination, which would reduce the losses and improve production. Key words: Mycoplasma synoviae; layer flocks; seroprevalence; ELISA; molecular detection; qPCR Mycoplasma synoviae (MS), unatoc nizoj patogenosti, moze uzrokovati znacajne gubitke u proizvodnji peradi, no obicno je poddijagnosticirana. Gubici u proizvodnji konzumnih jaja mogu biti znacajni zbog pada proizvodnje i lose kvalitete ljuske jajeta. Problemi s kolibacilozom i drugim zarazama koje se javljaju kao sekundarne MS-u kontinuirano se prijavljuju na farmama nesilica konzumnih jaja u Hrvatskoj. Stoga je u pracenje zdravlja na farmama ukljuceno i otkrivanje seroprevalencije i molekularnog dokaza MS-a primjenom ELISA i qPCR testova. Tijekom pracenja testirano je ukupno 1135 uzoraka, 1067 seruma i 68 obrisaka dusnika, u ukupno 126 jata, odnosno 83 longitudinalno grupiranih jata na 15 farmi od 2017. do 2021. godine. Rezultati su pokazali visoku opcu prevalenciju od 86,6% pozitivnih farmi na MS. Kod longitudinalno grupiranih jata seroprevalencija je iznosila 98,6%, dok je molekularnim monitoringom prevalencija bila 85,7%. S dobi, seroprevalencija i ELISA titar znacajno rastu, uz znacajnu medusobnu korelaciju tijekom cijelog razdoblja proizvodnje. Takoder, postoji znacajna korelacija izmedu ELISA titra i dobi u tjednima. Jata pracena longitudinalno od dobi jednog tjedna do kraja proizvodnje, pokazuju nisku prevalenciju tijekom uzgojnog razdoblja. Kasnije, u razdoblju proizvodnje, dolazi do znacajnog porasta titra i prevalencije, sto ukazuje na dominantan horizontalni prijenos tijekom proizvodnje. Rezultati monitoringa skrecu pozornost na potrebu brze reakcije na farmama s ciljem poboljsanja preventivnih mjera, narocito boljeg upravljanja jatima, biosigurnosnih mjera i cijepljenja, sto bi znacajno smanjilo gubitke i poboljsalo proizvodnju. Kljucne rijeci: Mycoplasma synoviae; kokosi nesilice; seroprevalencija; ELISA; prevalencija; qPCR
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