Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
J Anim Sci. 2021 Jan 1;99(1). doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa391.
In calf rearing, the first weeks of life are critical and associated with the highest mortality due to enteric and respiratory diseases. A well-implemented hygiene management can help to protect calves' health preventively by reducing the load of pathogenic bacteria and interrupting infection chains. The aim of this study was to identify deficiencies in hygiene management of individually housed dairy calves by surveying current practice and examining feeding and housing equipment with different hygiene indicators. On 11 farms, different locations in 2 pens or hutches for individual calf rearing prepared for restocking and 2 feeding buckets per farm, including the inner and outer surfaces of artificial teats, were visually scored for cleanliness and sampled with swabs (housing equipment: n = 167; feeding equipment: n = 120). The sanitation of floors was tested with sock samples (n = 41). A total of 328 samples were analyzed for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and protein residues, aerobic total viable count (TVC), total coliform count (TCC), Escherichia coli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing bacteria (ESBL), and Salmonella spp. After evaluation of these results, the farmers were informed about the findings and trained on improvement in hygiene management personally. The sampling was repeated after 1 year to detect possible changes in hygiene management. The highest bacterial loads (TVC, TCC, and E. coli) were observed in feeding equipment, especially the inner teat of milk feeding buckets. Environmental samples, primarily the sidewalls and back walls of tested pens and hutches, exhibited the lowest bacterial counts and ATP and protein residues. All samples were negative for MRSA and Salmonella spp. In 10.5% of all samples, ESBL was detected, and in 6.8%, ESBL E. coli was detected, predominately in sock samples, followed by feeding equipment samples. Training in hygiene management showed only limited effects. In conclusion, there is still great potential to improve the implementation of hygiene measures in individual calf housing. In particular, more attention should be paid to the cleaning of feeding buckets and artificial teats, as this is a simple means of interrupting the possible spread of pathogens among calves.
在犊牛饲养中，生命的最初几周是关键时期，由于肠道和呼吸道疾病，死亡率最高。实施良好的卫生管理有助于通过减少病原细菌的负荷和中断感染链来预防保护犊牛的健康。本研究的目的是通过调查当前的实践，检查具有不同卫生指标的饲养和饲养设备，确定单独饲养的奶牛犊牛的卫生管理缺陷。在 11 个农场中，为重新存栏准备的 2 个畜栏或畜舍的不同位置以及每个农场的 2 个饲养桶，包括人工奶嘴的内外表面，都进行了清洁度的目视评分，并使用拭子进行了采样（饲养设备：n = 167；饲养设备：n = 120）。用袜子样本测试了地板的卫生情况（n = 41）。共分析了 328 个样本的三磷酸腺苷（ATP）和蛋白质残留、需氧总活菌计数（TVC）、总大肠菌群计数（TCC）、大肠杆菌、耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）、产超广谱β-内酰胺酶的细菌（ESBL）和沙门氏菌属。在评估这些结果后，向农民通报了调查结果，并亲自对其进行了卫生管理改进方面的培训。一年后再次进行采样，以检测卫生管理方面的可能变化。在饲养设备中观察到最高的细菌负荷（TVC、TCC 和大肠杆菌），尤其是牛奶饲养桶的内奶嘴。环境样本，主要是测试畜栏和畜舍的侧壁和后壁，细菌计数和 ATP 以及蛋白质残留最低。所有样本均未检出 MRSA 和沙门氏菌属。在所有样本中，有 10.5%检测到 ESBL，有 6.8%检测到 ESBL 大肠杆菌，主要在袜子样本中，其次是饲养设备样本。卫生管理培训的效果有限。总之，在单独饲养犊牛的畜舍中，仍有很大的改进卫生措施的空间。特别是应更加注意饲养桶和人工奶嘴的清洁，因为这是一种简单的方法，可以中断病原体在犊牛之间的传播。
