Richardson L J, Hofacre C L, Mitchell B W, Wilson J L
Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Avian Dis. 2003 Oct-Dec;47(4):1352-61. doi: 10.1637/7013.
Salmonella in birds is a concern because of the human foodborne illness associated with the consumption of poultry meat and eggs. One of the methods of transmission of Salmonella within a flock can be by the air. Therefore, we used reduction of transmission of Salmonella to monitor the effectiveness of the electrostatic space charge system (ESCS). During the average broiler breeder laying cycle of 40 wk, a large amount of dust becomes airborne and accumulates on walls, ceiling, and equipment. Many microorganisms adhere to these dust particles, making dust an excellent vector for horizontal disease transmission between birds. We used two environmentally controlled rooms containing commercial broiler breeders to evaluate the effectiveness of an ESCS that produced a strong negative electrostatic charge to reduce airborne dust and, subsequently, microorganism levels. The ESCS caused the dust to become negatively charged, therefore moving to the grounded floor in the treatment room. The use of the ESCS resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.0001, 61% reduction) in airborne dust concentration levels, which resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.0001, 76% reduction) in total airborne bacteria and gram-negative bacteria (48% reduction) in the treatment room. Significant reductions (P < 0.05) of gram-negative bacteria (63% reduction) on the egg collection belts were also recorded in the treatment room, which resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.0001) of gram-negative bacteria (28% reduction) on the eggshell surface. The ESCS treatment resulted in fewer Salmonella enteritidis-positive hens and their progeny from the treatment room due to reductions of dust and airborne bacteria. In addition, this significant reduction in bacteria on the eggshell surface should result in less bacteria in the day-old chicks, therefore better early chick livability. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in egg production, male or female body weights, mortality, or reproductive performance in the ESCS room compared with the control room.
禽类中的沙门氏菌令人担忧，因为人类食用禽肉和蛋类会引发食源性疾病。沙门氏菌在鸡群内的传播途径之一可能是通过空气。因此，我们利用减少沙门氏菌传播来监测静电空间电荷系统（ESCS）的有效性。在40周龄的肉种鸡平均产蛋周期内，大量灰尘会飞扬到空气中，并积聚在墙壁、天花板和设备上。许多微生物附着在这些灰尘颗粒上，使灰尘成为禽类之间水平疾病传播的极佳媒介。我们使用两个装有商业肉种鸡的环境控制房间来评估ESCS的有效性，该系统会产生强烈的负静电电荷以减少空气中的灰尘，进而降低微生物水平。ESCS使灰尘带负电荷，因此会移至处理室的接地地板上。使用ESCS使空气中灰尘浓度水平显著降低（P < 0.0001，降低61%），这导致处理室内空气中的总细菌和革兰氏阴性菌显著减少（P < 0.0001，分别降低76%和48%）。处理室内集蛋带上的革兰氏阴性菌也显著减少（P < 0.05，降低63%），这使得蛋壳表面的革兰氏阴性菌显著减少（P < 0.0001，降低28%）。由于灰尘和空气中细菌的减少，ESCS处理使处理室中肠炎沙门氏菌阳性母鸡及其后代数量减少。此外，蛋壳表面细菌的显著减少应会使一日龄雏鸡体内的细菌减少，从而提高雏鸡早期的成活率。与对照室相比，ESCS处理室在产蛋量、雌雄体重、死亡率或繁殖性能方面没有显著差异（P > 0.05）。
