Effect of Fallowing on the Viability of Salmonella spp. in Poultry Facilities

Avian Typhoid, worldwide spread, is one of the principal diseases that devastate industrial poultry, causing serious economic losses to the poultry sector. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the fallowing technique, applied for a 149 days period, to a commercial poultry farm with a history of Salmonella Gallinarum isolation. Phenotypic detection of the pathogen in specific cultures was carried out from drag swabs collected from poultry facilities and equipment after the fallowing. An epidemiological inquiry was also carried out to verify the conditions of applied fallowing and to subsidize the laboratory tests. The bacteriological findings suggested that the fallowing technique in the period considered was not effective, for Salmonella spp. was isolated in 65% of the environmental samples. It was possible to infer that the sanitary-hygienic measures adopted in the fallow period were not effective, which requires new disinfection procedures and new bacteriological monitoring, besides an even longer fallow period. It was further concluded that the epidemiological inquiry is a valuable tool that ought to be adopted to investigate the relations between the epidemiological triad formed by Salmonella, the host, and the environment, while also being useful to support complementary exams, such as isolation in bacterial cultures.