Microbial air pollution caused by intensive broiler chicken breeding

Studies on the degree of microbial atmospheric pollution caused by industrial broiler breeding were carried out. The experiments were performed with broiler chickens bred on litter that was not changed, at a density of 20 chickens m(-2) in uniform buildings each possessing a total area of 960 m(2). A gradual increase of the microbial numbers in the indoor air was observed as the birds aged (1.25 x 10(3) to 1.68 x 10(5) m(-3) air). The ageing of the birds was also accompanied by a more massive emission of microorganisms into the environment (2.86 x 10(9) to 3.05 x 10(13) emitted in the air over 24 h per building). These studies, concerning the problems of microbial pollution caused by the industrial breeding of farm animals, indicate that the microorganisms could be dispersed by air flow for up to 3000 m from the production buildings. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.