Airborne bacterial reduction by spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water in a laying-hen house

Abstract

Spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) has been considered as a potential approach to reduce airborne bacteria in laying-hen houses. In this study, the effects of spraying SAEW on airborne bacterial reduction were investigated in a laying-hen house as compared with using diluted didecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DDAB). Averaged air temperature reduced by approximate 1 °C and average relative humidity increased by 3% at a stable ventilation rate (about 2.5 m³ hr⁻¹ per bird) in the laying-hen house 30 min after spraying (120 mL m⁻²). Compared with the control without spraying, the airborne bacterial concentration was reduced by about 0.70 and 0.37 log₁₀ colony-forming units (CFU) m⁻³ in the 4 hr after spraying 120 mL m⁻² SAEW (available chlorine concentration [ACC] of 156 mg L⁻¹) and diluted DDAB (active compound concentration of 167 mg L⁻¹), respectively. Compared with spraying diluted DDAB, spraying SAEW was determined to be more effective for reducing airborne bacterial in laying-hen houses. The effects of spraying SAEW and diluted DDAB on airborne bacterial reduction in the laying-hen house increased with the increasing available chlorine concentrations for SAEW (156, 206, 262 mg L⁻¹) and increasing active compound concentrations for diluted DDAB (167, 333, 500 mg L⁻¹), respectively. Spraying SAEW and diluted DDAB with two levels of spraying volumes (120 and 90 mL m⁻²) both showed significant differences on airborne bacterial reduction in the laying-hen house (P < 0.05).

Implications:

It is difficult to effectively reduce airborne bacteria in laying-hen houses. This work describes the application of spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water as a new approach for reducing airborne bacteria in a laying-hen house. The effects of active compound concentrations and spray volumes on the airborne bacterial reductions by spraying SAEW were also investigated. This study provided a new effective and environmentally friendly approach to reduce the airborne bacteria in poultry houses, contributing to bird housing environment management and improving bird health.

Acknowledgment

This study was funded by the China Agricultural Research System (CARS-41), National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation of China (200903009), and National Fund of Natural Science of China (30871957). The authors would also like to thank Sun Daily Farm, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China.