Recovery and Genetic Similarity of Salmonella from Broiler House Drag Swabs Versus Surgical Shoe Covers

Abstract

Reducing the contamination of poultry houses requires adequate sampling of the environment. Sampling regimens that assess the Salmonella status of broilers prior to processing can be used to identify and process negative flocks first. The current study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of surgical shoe covers vs. drag swabs in the recovery of Salmonella from poultry house litter. Current methods of determining the colonization status of a flock include drag swabs of the litter surface. This method requires significant time and labor in drag swab assembly preparation. The time and cost involved with drag swab assembly, sterilization, and use decreases the likelihood that the number of samples needed to adequately assess the health of a flock will be taken. A simple solution to the sampling problem is the use of surgical shoe covers. Our results indicate that surgical shoe covers are more effective (12.5%) in recovering Salmonella from an infected flock than drag swabs (2.1%). Three Salmonella serotypes were recovered with surgical shoe covers, whereas only one serotype was recovered with drag swabs. The Salmonella serotypes from drag swabs that matched the serotypes from surgical shoe covers were genetically identical. Poultry supervisors often travel to farms to assess a flock prior to processing, and to aid in this evaluation, surgical shoe covers may be worn over disposable plastic boots as supervisors walk through the house. Surgical shoe covers cost $0.70/pair and may be kept in vehicles along with disposable plastic boots.