The respiratory health of chickens in today’s closed poultry houses is affected by airborne pathogens. The main poultry diseases, such as Newcastle disease (ND), Salmonella and Avian Influenza are all transmitted by airborne (dust) particles. These pathogens are able to survive over limited periods of time and can travel distances of 500 m or more.
Knowing that you only need a few particles to infect an animal, airborne disease transmission is a serious threat for a flock within a poultry house. Also between poultry houses on a farm and more rarely between farms, such contamination can take place. It is also worth mentioning that airborne poultry pathogens have health implications for farm personnel.
It is clear that the first step limiting these risks is in making sure the empty poultry house is thoroughly disinfected (terminal disinfection) and populated with healthy chicks from a reliable and reputable hatchery.
The disinfectant Halamid® has proven its use in various disinfection protocols for empty houses (see our poultry brochure).
Aerial disinfection – Efficacy
Infection through a variety of vectors during the growing cycle is still possible. Aerial disinfection is one of few means to defend against this and safeguard animal health and farm profits. There are a number of reasons for doing it.
Halamid® is a unique powerful yet mild disinfectant, suitable also for use in the presence of birds. Dilute concentrations have a very good killing effect on notorious poultry pathogens.
Table 1: Effective concentrations, following European standardized norms
| Pathogen | Concentration | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| Salmonella | 0.3% | 1:300 |
| Avian Influenza | 0.1% | 1:1000 |
| Newcastle disease | 0.1% | 1:1000 |
Aerial disinfection is possible in all poultry related applications where airborne transmission of pathogens is a risk (broiler, hatchery, layer farm and so on).
Protocol – Easy to use
Application in the presence of birds calls for a fine mist to be sprayed into the air rather than directly onto surfaces. The finest mist setting of a portable high pressure washer can be used. For higher performance, use cold-fogging equipment or hydrofans is used. The emphasis is on killing pathogens in the air rather than wetting the building.
| Concentration: 1:300 (routine) or 1:200 (risk) at 1 L per 10 – 20 m2 |
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If dust and/or endotoxins are a serious problem, a coarser spray producing larger droplets can be a solution. The higher wetting capacity makes dust fall to the ground.
| Concentration: 1:200 at 1 L per 10 – 20 m2 |
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Please follow local regulations and registered claims as they may differ per country
Further information can be obtained from local Halamid distributors or halamid.com.