Microbial exposure and respiratory dysfunction in poultry hatchery workers

Abstract

Today's modern animal confinement with high stocking density of a single species has resulted in new workplaces that are rarely characterised in regard to microbial exposure. In this study we determine the personal microbial exposure by long term monitoring in a duck hatchery. Four hatchery workers were accompanied for four weeks and on every working day personal bioaerosol sampling and lung function tests were performed. Quantitative and qualitative molecular methods were used for analysing bioaerosol samples. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analyses showed a unique microbial exposure on eclosion days. By 16S rRNA gene sequence cloning analysis we detected Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter and Enterococcus as predominant bacterial genera. Ducklings' down was identified as a medium for bacterial contamination. Furthermore on eclosion days the four workers showed a decline in lung function over their working shift causing an average FEV 1 decrease.

Dust exposure and health of workers in duck hatcheries

“…A German study demonstrated a decrease in FEV 1 for days involving duckling sorting, but not for the days without [10]. Although the sample included only four workers, this result suggests that airborne particles from duckling down have a negative effect on respiratory health.…”

“…Among them, farm managers and workers in the hatchery sector (about 6,500 people) are occupationally exposed to bioaerosols due to bird movements or animal handling. Few studies have been published on hatcheries [8,9,10]. Furthermore, initial observations indicate that bacterial contaminant concentrations are higher in the air of duck hatcheries than in chicken hatcheries [11,12], although these studies were limited to a single premises in Germany and in Bulgaria.…”

Acinetobacter baumannii from Samples of Commercially Reared Turkeys: Genomic Relationships, Antimicrobial and Biocide Susceptibility

“…To investigate possible reservoirs in future studies, the environment of one-day-old chicks, i.e., hatcheries and transport vehicles, should be analysed. In other studies, A. baumannii isolates have been found in the air of a duck hatchery [ 27 ] and non-sterile water (which is used for humidity regulation during the brood), which has been suggested to be a possible source of contamination in hatcheries [ 26 ]. Moreover, feather down has also been considered as a potential carrier [ 26 , 55 ].…”

“…It has also been detected in the air of a duck hatchery. The authors considered that these bacteria might be a possible trigger for respiratory diseases in hatchery workers [ 26 , 27 ]. Liu et al also point out that cross-infections between humans and chicks through handling may be possible [ 17 ].…”

Evaluation of the Survivability of Microorganisms Deposited on Filtering Respiratory Protective Devices under Varying Conditions of Humidity

“…This problem is particularly acute in tropical and subtropical countries, where people often come in contact with numerous parasites and inhale harmful bioaerosols [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. In the temperate zone, a significant number of cases of diseases caused by biological factors is observed, not only among health professionals [ 6 ] and dentists [ 7 ], but also people employed in agricultural production [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], wood industry [ 15 , 16 ], composting plants [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], sewage and solid waste treatment plants [ 20 , 21 ], and the dairy industry [ 22 , 23 ].…”