Microbial Screening of Housing and Equipment Before the Arrival of Day-Old Chickens

Duong, Chi Mai and Houbari, Nour Al-Din K. N. and Du, Nguyen Tieu Quynh and Le, Huu Ngoc and Ho, Thi Kim Hoa (2026) Microbial Screening of Housing and Equipment Before the Arrival of Day-Old Chickens. Journal of World's Poultry Research. 102 - 109. ISSN 2322455X

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Abstract

Cleaning and disinfection are essential parts of farm management biosecurity. The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of opportunistic bacteria on environmental surfaces and equipment in broiler houses on Day 0, just prior to the arrival of day-old chickens. Samples were collected from nine broiler houses, located on different farms in two provinces in Southern Vietnam. Five swab samples were randomly collected from each house, focusing on ceiling and wall surfaces, fan blades, feeders, and drinkers' heaters. Each environmental sample was analyzed for coliform and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) counts and for the presence of Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens). Before placing chickens in the houses, samples were collected from 10-day-old chickens on each farm. Feather swabs were collected from the body surface for Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella species, and S. aureus, while yolk samples were screened for E. coli and Salmonella species. High bacterial loads were detected in all environmental samples. Specifically, coliform and S. aureus counts reached 6log10CFU / cm² from ceilings and walls. Additionally, equipment surfaces demonstrated substantial bacterial contamination, with counts of 6-11 log₁₀ CFU per feeder or drinker, 9-11 log₁₀ CFU per fan blade, and 6-10 log₁₀ CFU per heater. Clostridium perfringens was found on environmental surfaces and equipment in most broiler chicken houses, except for houses 1, 3, and 5, and in a feather sample from a day-old chick. Escherichia coli was identified in all chicken samples. Salmonella spp. were found in the yolk samples at six out of nine farms (66.7), whereas S. aureus was isolated from 17 of 18 feather samples (99.4). The presence of these enteric bacteria and S. aureus on the environment and equipment surfaces indicated that microorganisms from the previous flock persisted despite thorough cleaning and disinfection. This residual contamination indicated that bacteria persisted mainly during the broiler cycle due to insufficient environmental sanitation and the presence of already infected chickens. The current results demonstrated that existing disinfection methods are insufficient to protect newly stocked flocks. These findings underscore the need for improved hygiene standards to reduce the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in poultry production. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Biosecurity; Broiler house; Cleaning; Disinfection; Escherichia coli; Salmonella spp
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	Journal of World's Poultry Research (JWPR)
Page Range:	102 - 109
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of World's Poultry Research
Journal Index:	Scopus
Volume:	16
Number:	1
Publisher:	Scienceline Publication
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.36380/jwpr.2026.11
ISSN:	2322455X
Depositing User:	Dr. Daryoush Babazadeh
URI:	https://eprints.science-line.com/id/eprint/1761

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