Risk Factors for Persistent Infection of Non-Typhoidal Salmonella in Poultry Farms, North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Salmonellosis is a bacterial zoonosis causing an array of health conditions. Non-typhoidal salmonellosis (NTS) has a discrete adaptation to certain animals; in poultry, pullorum and fowl typhoid are its primary disease manifestations. The diseases are prevalent in Nigerian poultry and have been well-studied in Nigeria, but less so in North Central Nigeria (NCN). Using field sampling, laboratory methods and a semi-structured questionnaire for 1000 poultry farms in NCN, we explored the incidence and risk factors for the persistence of NTS infection in poultry. Approximately 41.6% of the farms had experienced NTS over the last 18 months. Farm experience of NTS moderately predicted awareness of salmonellosis. Increasing stock in smallholder farms, self-mixing of concentrate on the farm, usage of stream water, pen odour, non-adherence and partial adherence of farms to recommended poultry vaccination against pullorum and fowl typhoid and lack of and non-adherence to biosecurity were identified risk factors that increased the odds of NTS infection in poultry. Antibiotic use practice may have reduced the isolation rate of NTS, yet NTS continues to challenge poultry farms in Nigeria. Identified risk practices must be mitigated intentionally and biosecurity and hygiene must be improved to reduce the burden of NTS.

Integration of water, sanitation, and hygiene program with biosecurity: A One Health approach to reduce the prevalence and exposure of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the livestock community

“…Recent developments in sanitation include (1) handling livestock feces [80][81][82][83][84] and (2) application of technology to control fecal contamination in the environment [68,[85][86][87]. Managing livestock feces involves protecting areas by covering storage containers [68].…”

“…Managing livestock feces involves protecting areas by covering storage containers [68]. Other methods include relocating feces during the summer season [80], transferring the collected samples into specific containers or rooms [81], grinding after naturally drying for 100 days [82], and adding straw and sawdust [83,84]. Fecal contamination can be controlled through anaerobic digestion processes conducted in slurry pits for conversion into biogas and liquid manure [68,85,86], composting to obtain solid manure [87], and the conversion of feces into biochar [88].…”

“…(2) ensuring water quality [75,76,83,84,93,94], and (3) separating water sources for livestock and human consumption [73]. The approach to water management differs between developed countries and developing countries because clean water in developing countries can originate from various non-piped sources [95].…”

“…Drinking water for workers on large farms is provided in refillable bottles or bottles. Ensuring water quality involves the addition of chlorine [84] and oxygen peroxide [83] to kill pathogens, as well as the application of antibiotics [96] and organic acids [94] in pipeline systems to maintain health or treat poultry diseases. Further, treatments, such as water heating and iron removal systems [97], are employed for non-piped water sources to promote livestock and human health in surrounding areas.…”

“…The odds ratio (OR) of ESBL E. coli and common pathogen bacteria in the literature was used to review the function of WaSH and biosecurity applications, representing a comparison between farmers who implemented the interventions and their counterparts (Table -1) [72,76,80,84,92,99]. The ORs were derived entirely from interviews with the farmer population who indicated the magnitude of the impact of the implementation of both programs.…”