Salmonella and biosecurity in poultry production

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Salmonella spp. is among the primary pathogens causing Foodborne Illness (FBI) and the third leading cause of death. It is widely distributed in nature and can survive in various environments.

Human infections are associated with the consumption of proteins of animal origin, and, currently, more than 2,600 salmonella serovars are known, all with the potential to cause disease in humans.

However, the most commonly evidenced are the serovars:

Salmonella Typhimurium and

Salmonella Enteritidis.

Salmonella is a pathogen that has implications beyond public health, causing economic losses due to trade restrictions.

 

PRESENCE IN BIRDS CARCASSES

The process hygiene indicator widely used by Brazilian and international organizations is the presence of salmonella in poultry carcasses.

The entry of salmonella into the slaughterhouse occurs through birds sent to slaughter. Currently, there are no known measures to reduce or eliminate salmonella in the slaughterhouse effectively.

Therefore, understanding the epidemiology of serovars is essential to control and minimize the impacts it causes and establish mitigation measures.

These need to be implemented throughout the production chain to reduce contamination levels and send birds without salmonella to the slaughterhouse or with very low infection, thus having the final product within the minimum requirements.

MITIGATION MEASURES

Mitigation measures for salmonella risk must be implemented in the poultry production chain, starting at the highest hierarchical level up to the slaughterhouse. These controls are commonly called “from farm to table.”

It is known that environmental factors offer opportunities for the survival of Salmonella and, consequently, facilitate their transmission. Some salmonella survives for a long time outside their hosts.

Salmonella, in general, has a variety of ways of introduction into a farm.

Therefore, measures to prevent entry and spread must be joint and added up.

Considering every detail, with a clear and precise objective of reducing the levels of environmental contamination and, consequently, in the birds.

CONTAMINATION SOURCES

The primary sources of contamination are:

day-old chick,

feed,

water,

people,

pests (rodents, flies, mealworms) and

litter supplies.

 

Once the potential sources of contamination have been identified, it is necessary to adopt mitigation measures for each of them.

These measures are called Good Production Practice Programs and Biosecurity.

BIOSECURITY

Biosecurity in poultry farming aims to:

Protect flocks from the introduction of contagious and potentially lethal microorganisms;

Control the spread of endemic agents to the farm or region;

Limit clinical signs caused by pathogens already present on the farm;

Control vertical infection by infectious agents with this characteristic;

Prevent or control infection by infectious agents of public health importance.

 

CLEANING AND DISINFECTION

One of the most important measures to reduce infection pressure is cleaning and disinfection. This procedure is applied to vehicles and materials that enter the farms and people, where bathing and changing clothes and shoes are necessary.

In breeders, the total removal of the