Modeling Salmonella Spread in Broiler Production: Identifying Determinants and Control Strategies

Abstract

The presence of Salmonella spp. in broiler production is a food safety concern as the bacterium can be transmitted to humans via contaminated meat and derived products. Salmonella detection in litter at the pre-slaughter period has been linked to increased odds of contaminated broiler carcasses and meat derived products. To determine risk factors related to farm and broiler house characteristics and management practices, this study uses a unique longitudinal data set from a Brazilian integrated broiler enterprise, which contains official results of Salmonella spp. isolation from drag swabs collected at the end of the grow-out period. A Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal model found significant spatial and time influence on the odds of isolating Salmonella spp. from litter as well as significant effects from the size of a broiler house, total housing area per farm, type of broiler house, and number of litter recycles. Results indicate that recycling litter beyond 6 rearing cycles significantly increased the odds of isolating Salmonella before slaughter, and the bacterium was more likely to persist in conventional broiler houses, compared to broiler houses with controlled environment. Evidence of a potential principal-agent problem was also found in setting strategies to control the bacterium from litter, which suggests strong incentives to adopt the strategies aiming to reduce prevalence of the bacterium in the integrated enterprise. Our findings could be used to develop alternative measures to reduce the risk of persistence of the bacterium in the broiler production chain.

The utilization of mangosteen pericarp extract for anticoccidial drug replacement in broiler feed

“…On the other hand, the MBC for S. enteritidis and S. gallinarum was 10.71 μg/mL (26.02 μM). The findings suggested that the α-mangostin was efficient in killing and inhibiting the growth of common bacteria found in broilers [ 35 ]. The antimicrobial effect of α-mangostin on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria has been reported.…”

“…which is a natural inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tract of birds. The infection of the bacteria in broilers could cause foodborne disease due to the transmission to humans through contaminated meat and derived products [ 35 ]. Thus, the infection is highly concerning.…”

Dietary Inclusion of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Derived Postbiotic Is Associated with Lower Salmonella enterica Burden in Broiler Chickens on a Commercial Farm in Honduras

“…Litter microbiome analyses have demonstrated associations between the physicochemical characteristics of the litter, the abundance of specific taxa, the associated ability to isolate foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter , and the litter influence on gut colonization [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Specifically, for Salmonella , Machado and Hagerman [ 53 ] reported decreasing odds for the probability of detecting Salmonella in litter prior to harvest with successive litter reuses up to six rearing cycles, after which, however, the odds began to increase. Conversely, in another study, Salmonella detections in recycled litter continued to decrease with up to 14 reuse cycles [ 54 ].…”

Non-Antibiotics Strategies to Control Salmonella Infection in Poultry

“…The poultry industry usually implements strategies of surveillance and biosecurity at international, national, and farm levels to prevent Salmonella spread [ 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 ]. Among the health management protocols, vaccination represents the most efficient and cost-effective method to reduce the impact of clinical disease, maintain herd immunity, decrease the shedding and reduce both horizontal and vertical transmission of Salmonella in poultry flocks [ 19 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 ].…”