RESEARCH PAPER
Occupational exposure to airborne microorganisms, endotoxins and β-glucans in poultry houses at different stages of the production cycle
 
More details
Hide details
1
Biohazard Laboratory, Department of Chemical, Aerosol and Biological Hazards, Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
 
2
Department of Biohazards and Immunoallergology, Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Sosnowiec, Poland
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2013;20(2):259-268
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of the presented study was to assess the exposure of poultry workers to airborne microorganisms, endotoxins and β-glucans during different stages of the chicken production cycle in 3 commercially-operated poultry houses. Personal and stationary sampling was carried out to assess exposure to both viable and total microbial aerosols. The stationary measurements of PM10 were performed to establish the level of endotoxins and β-glucans. The concentrations of bacterial and fungal aerosols ranged from 2.5×102 CFU/m3 – 2.9×106 CFU/m3, and from 1.8×102 CFU/m3 – 1.8×105 CFU/m3, respectively. The number of culturable microorganisms was significantly lower than their total counts, constituting from 0.0004% – 6.4% of the total microbial flora. The level of PM10 in poultry facilities did not exceed 4.5 mg/m3. After the flock entered the clean house, the level of endotoxins and β-glucans increased from below detection limit to 8,364 ng/m3 and from 0.8 ng/m3 to 6,886 ng/m3, respectively. The presented study shows that professional activities in poultry farms are associated with constant exposure to bioaerosol, which may pose a health hazard to workers. It was found that workers’ exposure to airborne microorganisms increased with consecutive stages of the chicken production cycle.
REFERENCES (69)
1.
AVEC. Annual report 2011. Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU Countries-ASBL. AVEC, Belgium, 2011.
 
2.
Cambra-López M, Aarnink AJA, Zhao Y, Calvet S, Torres AG. Airborne particulate matter from livestock production systems: a review of an air pollution problem. Environ Pollut. 2010; 158: 1–17.
 
3.
Hayes ET, Curran TP, Dodd VA. Odour and ammonia emissions from intensive poultry units in Ireland. Bioresour Technol. 2006; 97: 933–939.
 
4.
Kocaman B, Esenbuga N, Yildiz A, Laçin E, Macit M. Effect of environmental conditions in poultry houses on the performance of laying hens. Int J Poult Sci. 2006; 5: 26–30.
 
5.
Nimmermark S, Lund V, Gustafsson G, Eduard W. Ammonia, dust and bacteria in welfare-oriented systems for laying hens. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2009; 16: 103–113.
 
6.
Radon K, Danuser B, Iversen M, Monso E, Weber C, Hartung J, et al. Air contaminants in different European farming environments. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2002; 9: 41–48.
 
7.
Bakutis B, Monstviliene E, Januskeviciene G. Analyses of airborne contamination with bacteria, endotoxins and dust in livestock barns and poultry houses. Acta Vet Brno. 2004; 73: 283–289.
 
8.
Golbabaei F, Islami F. Evaluation of workers’ exposure to dust, ammonia and endotoxins in poultry industries at the province of Isfahan, Iran. Ind Health 2000; 38: 41–46.
 
9.
Just N, Kirychuk S, Gilbert Y, Létourneau V, Veillette M, Singh B, et al. Bacterial diversity characterization of bioaerosols from cage-housed and floor-housed poultry operations. Environ Res. 2011; 11: 492–498.
 
10.
Millner PD. Bioaerosols associated with animal production operations. Bioresource Technol. 2009; 100: 5379–5385.
 
11.
Dutkiewicz J. Exposure to dust-borne bacteria in agriculture. I. Environmental studies. Arch Environ Health 1978; 33(5): 250–259.
 
12.
Dutkiewicz J. Keim flora der Luft in verschiedenen Geflügelzucht und Verarbeitungsanlagen (Airborne germ flora in various poultry farms and poultry processing plants). Z Gesamte Hyg Ihre Grenzgeb1980; 26: 45–53.
 
13.
Hameed A, Awad A, Elmorsy TH, Tarwater PM, Green CF, Gibbs SG. Air biocontamination in a variety of agricultural industry environments in Egypt: a pilot study. Aerobiologia 2010; 26: 223–232.
 
14.
Martin E, Kämpfer P, Jäckel U. Quantification and identification of culturable airborne bacteria from duck houses. Ann Occup Hyg. 2010; 54: 217–227.
 
15.
Nichita I, Marcu A, Seres M, Tirziu E, Mot D, Gros RG. Evaluation of fungi presence in the air of two broiler houses with different ventilation systems. Sci pap: Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2010; 43: 415–418.
 
16.
Oppliger A, Charriere N, Droz PO, Rinsoz T. Exposure to bioaerosols in poultry houses at different stages of fattening; use of real-time PCR for airborne bacterial quantification. Ann Occup Hyg. 2008; 52: 405–412.
 
17.
Rimac D, Macan J, Varnai VM, Vucemilo M, Matković K, Prester L. Exposure to poultry dust and health effects in poultry workers: impact of mould and mite allergens. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2010; 83: 9–19.
 
18.
Seedorf J, Hartung J, Schröder M, Linkert KH, Phillips VR, Holden MR et al. Concentrations and emissions of airborne endotoxins and microorganisms in livestock buildings in Northern Europe. J Agr Eng Res. 1998; 70: 97–109.
 
19.
Vučemilo M, Matković K, Vinković B, Jakšić S, Granić K, Mas N. The effect of animal age on air pollutant concentration in a chicken house. Czech J Anim Sci. 2007; 52: 170–174.
 
20.
Lacey J, Dutkiewicz J. Bioaerosols and occupational lung disease. J Aerosol Sci. 1994; 25: 1371–1404.
 
21.
Rees D, Nelson G, Kielkowski D, Wasserfall C, da Costa A. Respiratory health and immunological profile of poultry workers. S Afr Med J. 1998; 88(9): 1110–1117.
 
22.
Rylander R, Carvalheiro MF. Airways inflammation among workers in poultry houses. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2006; 79: 487–490.
 
23.
Simpson JC, Niven RM, Pickering CA, Fletcher AM, Oldham LA, Francis HM. Prevalence and predictors of work related respiratory symptoms in workers exposed to organic dusts. Occup Environ Med. 1998; 55: 668–672.
 
24.
Żukiewicz-Sobczak W, Krasowska E, Zwoliński J, et al. Allergic diseases – current state of knowledge. Post Derm Alergol 2012; 6: 451–455.
 
25.
Ashitani J, Kyoraku Y, Yanagi S, Matsumoto N, Nakazato M. Elevated levels of β-D-glucans in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with farmer’s lung in Miyazaki. Respiration 2008; 75: 182–188.
 
26.
Douwes J. (1→3)-β-D-glucans and respiratory health: a review of the scientific evidence. Indoor Air 2005; 15: 160–169.
 
27.
Rylander R. The role of endotoxins for reactions after exposure to cotton dust. Am J Ind Med. 1987; 12: 687–697.
 
28.
Rylander R. Organic dust induced pulmonary disease – the role of mould derived beta-glucans. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2010; 17: 9–13.
 
29.
Degobbi C, Saldiva PHN, Rogers C. Endotoxins as modifier of particulate matter toxicity: a review of the literature. Aerobiologia 2011; 27: 97–105.
 
30.
Ławniczek-Wałczyk A, Górny RL. Endotoxins and β-glucans as markers of microbiological contamination – characteristics, detection, and environmental exposure. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2010; 17: 193–208.
 
31.
Macher, J. Bioaerosols – assessment and control. ACGIH Worldwide, Cincinnati, 1999.
 
32.
Górny RL. Biological aerosols – the role of hygienic standards in the environment and health protection. Environ Med. 2010; 13: 41–51.
 
33.
Górny RL, Dutkiewicz J. Evaluation of microorganisms and endotoxin levels of indoor air in living rooms occupied by cigarette smokers and non-smokers in Sosnowiec, Upper Silesia, Poland. Aerobiologia 1998; 14: 235–239.
 
34.
Kirychuk SP, Reynolds SJ, Koehncke NK, Lawson J, Willson P, Senthilselvan A. Endotoxins and dust at respirable and nonrespirable particle sizes are not consistent between cage- and floor-housed poultry operations. Ann Occup Hyg. 2010; 54: 1–9.
 
35.
Madsen AM, Nielsen SH. Airborne endotoxins associated with particles of different sizes and affected by water content in handled straw. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2010; 213: 278–284.
 
36.
Madsen AM, Schlünssen V, Olsen T, Sigsgaard T, Avci H. Airborne fungal and bacterial components in PM1 dust from biofuel plants. Ann Occup Hyg. 2009; 53: 749–757.
 
37.
Martinez KF. Anthrax: environmental sampling. In The Mold, Spores, and Remediation Workshop. ACGIH Worldwide, Cincinnati, 2002.
 
38.
Palmgren UG, Ström G, Blomquist G, Malmberg P. Collection of airborne micro-organisms on Nuclepore filters, estimation and analysis-CAMNEA method. J Appl Bacteriol 1986; 61: 401–406.
 
39.
Górny RL, Cyprowski M, Ławniczek-Wałczyk A, Gołofit-Szymczak M, Zapór L. Biohazards in the indoor environment – a role for threshold limit values in exposure assessment. In: Dudzińska MR. The Management of indoor air quality. CRC Press – Taylor and Francis Group, London 2011, p. 1–20.
 
40.
Hinton A Jr, Cason JA. Bacterial flora of processed broiler chicken skin after successive washings in mixtures of potassium hydroxide and lauric acid. J Food Prot. 2008; 71: 1707–1713.
 
41.
Directive 2000/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on the protection of workers from risk related to exposure to biological agents at work. Off J Eur Communities. L262: 21–45.
 
42.
Myhre AE, Aasen AO, Thiemermann C, Wang JE. Peptidoglycan – an endotoxins in its own right? Shock 2006; 25: 227–235.
 
43.
Redwine JS, Lacey RE, Mukhtar S, Carey JB. Concentration and emissions of ammonia and particulate matter in tunnel-ventilated broiler houses under summer conditions in Texas. Trans. ASAE 2002; 45(4): 1101–1109.
 
44.
Roumeliotis TS, Van Heyst BJ. Size fractionated particulate matter emissions from a broiler house in Southern Ontario, Canada. Sci Total Environ. 2007; 383(1–3): 174–182.
 
45.
Zhao Y, Aarnink AJA, Hofschreuder P, Groot Koerkamp PWG. Evaluation of an impaction and a cyclone pre-separator for sampling high PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in livestock houses. J Aerosol Sci. 2009; 40: 868–878.
 
46.
Cambra-López M, Torres AG, Aarnink AJA, Ogink NWM. Source analysis of fine and coarse particulate matter from livestock houses. Atmos Environ. 2011; 45: 694–707.
 
47.
Zuskin E, Mustajbegovic J, Schachter EN, Kern J, Rienzi N, Goswami S, et al. Respiratory function in poultry workers and pharmacologic characterization of poultry dust extract. Environ Res. 1995; 70: 11–19.
 
48.
Lai HT, Nieuwland MG, Kemp B, Aarnink AJ, Parmentier HK. Effects of repeated intratracheally administered lipopolysaccharide on primary and secondary specific antibody responses and on body weight gain of chickens. Poultry Sci. 2011; 90: 337–351.
 
49.
Pomorska D, Larsson L, Skórska C, Sitkowska J, Dutkiewicz J. Levels of bacterial endotoxins in air of animal houses determined with the use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Limulus test. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2007; 14: 291–298.
 
50.
Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Standards. Endotoxins: Health-based recommended occupational exposure limit. Den Haag: DECOS, 2010.
 
51.
Clark CS. Report on prevention and control. Proceedings of an International Workshop “Health Effects of Organic Dusts in the Farm Environment”; Apr 23–25; Skokloster, Sweden, 1985. Am J Ind Med. 1985; 10: 267–273.
 
52.
Rylander R. Organic dusts – from knowledge to prevention. Scand J Work Environ Health 1994; 20(Spec no): 116–122.
 
53.
Sander I, Fleischer C, Borowitzki G, Brüning T, Raulf-Heimsoth M. Development of a two-site enzyme immunoassay based on monoclonal antibodies to measure airborne exposure to (1→3)-β-D-glucans. J Immunol Method. 2008; 337:55–62.
 
54.
Rylander R, Persson K, Goto H, Yuasa K, Tanaka S. Airborne β,1–3 glucans may be related to symptoms in sick buildings. Indoor Environ. 1992; 1: 263–267.
 
55.
Józwik M, Trawińska B, Danek-Majewska A. Microbial contamination of laying hen litter in relation to bird age. Ann UMCS 2009; XXVII(1): 7–13.
 
56.
Vučemilo M, Matković K, Vinković B, Macan J, Varnai VM, Prester Lj, et al. Effect of microclimate on the airborne dust and endotoxins concentration in a broiler house. Czech J Anim Sci. 2008; 53: 83–89.
 
57.
Rosas I, Calderón C, Salinas E, Martínez L, Alfaro-Moreno E, Milton DK, et al. Animal and worker exposure to dust and biological particles in animal care houses. Aerobiologia 2001; 17: 49–59.
 
58.
Stuurman B, Meijster T, Heederik D, Doekes G. Inhalable beta(1→3) glucans as a non-allergenic exposure factor in Dutch bakeries. Occup Environ Med. 2008; 65: 68–70.
 
59.
Mandryk J, Alwis KU, Hocking D. Effects of personal exposures on pulmonary function and work-related symptoms among sawmill workers. Ann Occup Hyg. 2000; 44: 281–289.
 
60.
Lee T, Grinshpun SA, Kim KY, Iossifova Y, Adhikari A, Reponen T. Relationship between indoor and outdoor airborne fungal spores, pollen, and (1→3)-β-D-glucans in homes without visible mold growth. Aerobiologia 2006; 22: 227–236.
 
61.
Akyuz A, Boyaci S. Determination of Heat and Moisture Balance for Broiler House. J Anim Vet Adv. 2010; 9(14): 1899–1901.
 
62.
Ordinance of the Minister of agriculture and rural development from September 2nd, 2003, on minimum housing standards for animal farm species”. Dz. U. nr 167, pos. 1629 with further amendments.
 
63.
Banhazi TM, Seedorf J, Laffrique M, Rutley DL. Identification of the risk factors for high airborne particle concentrations in broiler buildings using statistical modeling. Biosyst Eng. 2008; 101: 100–110.
 
64.
Rautiala S, Reponen T, Hyvärinen A, Nevalainen A, Husman T, Tiittanen P, et al. Comparison of six-stage impactor and camnea-method sampling during repair work. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference; Aug 22–25; Budapest, Hungary; Budapest: CIB, 1994.
 
65.
Ławniczek A, Górny RL, Wlazło A, Niesler A, Harkawy A, ŁudzeńIzbińska B. Application of volumetric samplers to the monitoring of biological aerosols. Ekol Tech. 2008; XVI/5A: 90–93.
 
66.
Li CS, Hao ML, Lin WH, Chang CW, Wang CS. Evaluation of microbial samplers for bacterial microorganisms. Aerosol Sci Technol. 1999; 30: 100–108.
 
67.
Lundholm IM. Comparison of methods for quantitative determinations of airborne bacteria and evaluation of total viable counts. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1982; 44: 179–183.
 
68.
Thorne PS, Kiekhaefer MS, Whitten P, Donham KJ. Comparison of bioaerosol sampling methods in barns housing swine. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992; 58: 2543–2551.
 
69.
Gołofit-Szymczak M, Górny RL. Bacterial and fungal aerosols in airconditioned office buildings in Warsaw, Poland - winter season. Int J Occup Saf Ergo. 2010; 16: 456-476.
 
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top