Efficacy of Disinfection on Airborne and Waterborne Fungal Load in Broiler Chicken Houses

Abstract

Several studies have looked at the bacterial population in poultry houses, but there have been few papers on mycological contamination; especially isolation of fungal isolates from cooling pads’ water. As a consequence, this research aimed to isolate and identify airborne and waterborne fungi from a variety of surfaces in two closed broiler chicken housing in the Giza government. This study was carried out during the flocks’ growth period (on day 10, day 30, and two hours after disinfection). Twenty water samples were collected from water lines (at the entrance and from the ends) and cooling pads. While the 30 dust samples were collected from fans and the floor to isolate airborne fungi. Following the determination of the total fungal counts, macroscopical and microscopic identifications were done. Seven fungal species belong to five separate fungal genera were isolated; Aspergillus flavus (100%), Aspergillus niger (100%), Aspergillus fumigatus (87.5%), Mucor sp. (87.5%), Penicillium sp. (75%), Fusarium sp. (37.5%), while Dematiaceous sp. (25 %) was isolated only from the waterline and the fans in house 2. Total fungal count levels were found to be lower after disinfection. Furthermore, some of them survive after disinfection. However, since fungal pollution affects the safety of the environment and drinking water, effective disinfection procedures must be used.