Salmonella Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: A Survey of Backyard Poultry Owners Residing in Seattle, Washington and the Surrounding Metropolitan Area

Abstract

SUMMARY Raising poultry flocks in urban backyard settings is becoming increasingly popular across the United States., but carries a risk of zoonotic infection. In the US from 1990–2014, 53 outbreaks of human salmonellosis linked to live poultry have been documented resulting in 2611 known illnesses, 387 known hospitalizations, and 5 known deaths. (CDC 2015a). A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed to better understand knowledge, attitudes, and practices of urban backyard poultry owners regarding Salmonella risk and prevention. The study included a survey of bird health, animal husbandry and hygiene practices, and knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to Salmonella risk. Participants were videotaped while caring for their birds, and the recordings were transcribed using notational analysis to determine if reported practices differed from observed practices. The results indicated that while a large proportion of participants knew that exposure to Salmonella is an inherent risk associated with raising poultry and harvesting eggs, their reported and observed practices would not consistently reduce risk of transmission of Salmonella and other zoonotic diseases. Approximately 1 in 4 participants reported performing practices that increase risk of inoculation, such as snuggling and kissing birds or eating/drinking near them. None of the participants were observed kissing their birds on video; however, snuggling (holding birds to clothes) or touching their face during routine care was observed in approximately two-thirds of the video recordings. The video data provided a unique opportunity to compare reported practices with actions recorded during site visits. While the differences were not statistically significant, findings from our study suggest that flock owners may not accurately report the frequency with which risky practices are performed during routine animal care. Education and outreach targeting backyard flock owners should aim to improve husbandry and hygiene practices and reduce risk of zoonotic diseases associated with raising poultry in the backyard setting.

Zoonotic disease awareness survey of backyard poultry and swine owners in southcentral Pennsylvania

“…This practice is risky especially for immunocompromised individuals, such as young children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems, that are more susceptible to disease after animal contact (CDC, ). A survey of backyard poultry owners in the Seattle, Washington, also highlighted that animal caretakers may not be self‐aware of actions that may facilitate faecal–oral disease transmission and risk‐reducing practices may not be consistently performed (Kauber, Fowler, Lipton, Meschke, & Rabinowitz, ). Wearing gloves while cleaning animal areas provides an extra protective barrier against faecal–oral disease transmission, and should be considered more by farm animal owners.…”

Frequent human‐poultry interactions and low prevalence of Salmonella in backyard chicken flocks in Massachusetts

“…This study indicates BYC owners and their family members view their birds as pets and treat them as such (Table ). However, these data may be subject to underreporting, as studies show flock owners do not always report risky behaviours when self‐reporting information (Kauber, Fowler, Lipton, Meschke, & Rabinowitz, ). Children ages 6 and younger comprised 11.1% of people interacting with BYC, contradicting CDC guidelines stating children under 5 years old should not handle or touch live poultry.…”

“…This study indicates BYC owners and their family members view their birds as pets and treat them as such (Table 3). However, these data may be subject to underreporting, as studies show flock owners do not always report risky behaviours when self-reporting information (Kauber, Fowler, Lipton, Meschke, & Rabinowitz, 2017 The mindset of pet-like interactions between BYC and their owners extends to owner's perception of disease risk. We infer from the responses in Table 7 that Between-household poultry contact also occurs, further contributing towards opportunities for pathogen transmission.…”

Genomics of Salmonella contaminating backyard production systems reveals persistence and transmission of genetically related Salmonella on a farm basis

“…These serovars are commonly found in poultry and swine farms (Chousalkar & Gole, ). Salmonella infection in these animals is usually subclinical except in some young animals or when caused by serovars that are host specific such as S. Gallinarum and S. Choleraesuis which cause systemic disease in poultry and swine, respectively (Kauber, Fowler, Lipton, Meschke, & Rabinowitz, ). Unapparent clinical signs in animals might allow Salmonella shedding for long periods of time without being noted (Kauber et al, ).…”

“…Salmonella infection in these animals is usually subclinical except in some young animals or when caused by serovars that are host specific such as S. Gallinarum and S. Choleraesuis which cause systemic disease in poultry and swine, respectively (Kauber, Fowler, Lipton, Meschke, & Rabinowitz, ). Unapparent clinical signs in animals might allow Salmonella shedding for long periods of time without being noted (Kauber et al, ). Importantly, in poultry and swine, salmonellosis outbreaks have been linked to food contamination and to direct contact with live animals (Manning, Gole, & Chousalkar, ) highlighting the importance of monitoring Salmonella presence at the farms.…”