Exposure to Airborne Culturable Microorganisms and Endotoxin in Two Italian Poultry Slaughterhouses

Abstract

Even if slaughterhouses' workers handle large amounts of organic material and are potentially exposed to a wide range of biological agents, relatively little and not recent data are available. The main objective of this study was to characterize indoor concentrations of airborne bacteria, fungi, and endotoxin mod = Im (endotoxin∼Gram-negative*plant*filter) in two Italian poultry slaughterhouses. Air samples near air handling units inlets were also collected. Since there are not standardized protocols for endotoxin sampling and extraction procedures, an additional aim of the study was to compare the extraction efficiency of three different filter.. The study was also aimed at determining the correlation between concentrations of Gram-negative bacteria and endotoxin. In Plant A bacterial levels ranged from 17.5 to 2.6×10(3) CFU/m3. The highest concentrations were observed in evisceration area of chickens, between the automatic detachment of the neck and washing offal, and near birds coupling before hair-chilling. The highest mean value of Gram-negative (266.5 CFU/m3) was found near the washing offal of turkeys. In Plant B bacterial concentration ranged from 35 to 8×10(3) CFU/m3. The highest concentration. with the highest value of Gram-negative (248 CFU/m3), was found after defeathering. Fungal concentrations were overall lower than those found for bacteria (range: 0-205 CFU/m3 in Plant A and 0-146.2 CFU/m3 in Plant B). The microbial flora was dominated by Gram-negative and coagulase-negative staphylococci for bacteria and by species belonging to Cladosporium, Penicillium and Aspergillus genera for molds. The highest endotoxin concentrations were measured in washing offal for Plant A (range: 122.7-165.9 EU/m3) and after defeathering for Plant B (range: 0.83-38.85 EU/m3). In this study airborne microorganisms concentrations were lower than those found in similar occupational settings and below the occupational limits proposed by some authors. However, these microorganisms may exert adverse effects on exposed workers, in particular for those engaged in the early slaughtering stages, as evidenced by the presence of pathogenic species. The detection of pathogenic bacteria near AHU inlet may constitute a risk to public health and environmental pollution.

How Working Tasks Influence Biocontamination in an Animal Facility

“…Due to their presence in both viable and dead cells, they may be considered a good indicator of exposure to fungi [35]. Although little information is available on their health effects in animal facilities, however, their association with dry cough, cough associated with phlegm, hoarseness, and atopy, has been reported in different studies [36][37][38]. Very few and not recent investigations dealing with airborne biological agents in laboratory animal settings, other than allergens, can be found [12][13][14][15]39] to date.…”

Slaughterhouses Fungal Burden Assessment: A Contribution for the Pursuit of a Better Assessment Strategy

“…Regarding the results obtained through conventional (cultural) methods, Penicillium sp. was one of the most frequent in all of the assessed units (the most prevalent in LAS and the second in PS and in SBS), and among this genus, we should consider targeting some specific species/strains, such as Penicillium polonicum (belonging to Penicillium aurantiogriseum complex) with toxigenic potential [ 27 ], related to high contamination levels in feed and food [ 28 ] and already isolated in a similar occupational environment [ 3 ]. Although not being the most prevalent genus in any of the slaughterhouses analyzed, Aspergillus sp.…”

“…In slaughterhouses, the biological risk is present not only from the direct or indirect contact with animal matter (feces, innards, feathers), but also from the exposure to bioaerosols [ 3 ]. Moreover, in some studies, Aspergillus , Penicillium , Cladosporium and Mucor genera were isolated from the floors and walls of slaughterhouses [ 4 , 5 ].…”

“…In addition, ventilation systems in slaughtering and processing facilities have been identified as an additional reservoir for the aerosolization and distribution of airborne microorganisms [ 6 ]. Poultry slaughterhouses are the ones that have been most assessed regarding their bioaerosols exposure [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], but others have been assessed too, namely cattle, sheep and reindeer slaughterhouses [ 8 , 11 ].…”

Identifikasi Faktor-Faktor yang Menentukan Status Keberlanjutan Usaha Tempat Penampungan dan Potong Ayam (TPnA) di Wilayah Pondok Rumput Kota Bogor

“…Provinsi Jawa Barat menempati urutan pertama untuk jumlah populasi tertinggi di Indonesia dengan peningkatan pertumbuhan 5,44%. Salah satu wilayah Jawa Barat yang memiliki potensi peternakan ayam ras pedaging yang relatif besar adalah Kabupaten Bogor (Ditjennak 2015 Keberadaan TPnA yang tidak sesuai persyaratan kesehatan lingkungan sering menimbulkan beberapa permasalahan, yaitu: hasil pemotongan cacat (kesegaran kurang) sehingga perlu memperketat rentang kendali pada ruang pendingin (Maisana et al 2012), sebagai sumber pencemaran bakteri (Paba et al 2014), residu obat hewan yang melampaui ambang batas yang ditetapkan SNI-01-6366-2000 (Yogaswara dan Setia 2004). Kesehatan lingkungan rumah potong yang kurang baik memungkinkan ditemukannya cemaran bakteri Salmonela pada karkas yang dihasilkan (Rasschaert et al 2007;Jianghui et al 2011).…”