Abstract
The Canadian poultry production industry contributes nearly $10 billion to the Canadian economy and employs nearly 50,000 workers. However, modern poultry facilities are highly contaminated with airborne dust. Although there are many bioaerosols in the poultry barn environment, endotoxin is typically attributed with the negative respiratory symptoms observed in workers. These adverse respiratory symptoms have a higher prevalence in poultry workers compared to workers from other animal confinement buildings. Workers in cage-housed operations compared to floor-housed facilities report a higher prevalence of some respiratory symptoms. We review the current state of knowledge on airborne dust in poultry barns and respiratory dysfunction in poultry workers while highlighting the areas that need further investigation. Our review focuses on the aerobiological pathway of poultry dust including the source and aerosolization of dust and worker exposure and response. Further understanding of the source and aerosolization of dust in poultry operations will aid in the development of management practices to reduce worker exposure and response.
Highlights
In 2007, chicken held the largest share (33.2%) of consumed meat by Canadians
Clinical diseases observed in poultry workers include allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS), chronic bronchitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (Farmer's Lung), toxin fever and occupational asthma or asthma-like syndrome [3,5,9,10]
Endotoxin is the family of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fragments that coat the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria [14]
Summary
Dust sources, including endotoxin, are present at high concentrations in poultry facilities. Animal activity is higher in floor-housed operations where birds move freely as opposed to being housed in cages This higher level of activity contributes to greater particle aerosolization. Bird age is a factor that differs between the two barn types and has an effect on bioaerosols These differences coincide with observations of greater dust concentrations in floor-housed poultry facilities. Observations of higher total dust concentrations in floor-housed operations are not in agreement with the observations of greater respiratory dysfunction in cage-housed workers. Further investigation of dust concentrations at different size fractions suggests that cagehoused operations have higher concentrations of respirable dust than floor-housed facilities [6]. Some forms of remediation have been tested These methods include the use of respirators by workers and spraying of canola oil to reduce dust exposure. BAL: bronchoalveolar lavage; CFU: colony forming unit; EU: endotoxin unit; FEF25–75: forced expiratory flow rate between 25 and 75% of FVC; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; IL-1β: interleukin-1 beta; IL-6: interleukin-6; IL-8: interleukin-8; LAL: Limulus amoebocyte lysate; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; ODTS: organic dust toxic syndrome; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; sp.: species; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factoralpha; TLR2: toll-like receptor 2; TLR4: toll-like receptor 4
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
