New Patterns for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Adjustment of Prevention, Control and Surveillance Strategies: The Example of France.

From 2020 up to summer 2023, there was a substantial change in the situation concerning the high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in Europe. This change concerned mainly virus circulation within wildlife, both in wild birds and wild mammals. It involved the seasonality of HPAI detections, the species affected, excess mortality events, and the apparent increased level of contamination in wild birds.

Avian influenza outbreaks: evaluating the efficacy of cleaning and disinfection of vehicles and transport crates.

In 2021, France faced large avian influenza outbreaks, like in 2016 and 2017. Controlling these outbreaks required the preventive depopulation of a large number of duck farms. A previous study in 2017 showed that the quality of decontamination of trucks and transport crates used for depopulation was often insufficient.

Compressed Brown Algae as a Potential Environmental Enrichment Material in Growing Pigs.

In barren housing conditions, enrichment materials are given to pigs to improve their welfare. Here, we assessed the suitability of an algae-based cylinder as an enrichment material on the behavioral, physiological, health and productivity welfare indicators of pigs. Algae was compared with metal chains and wood logs.

Cleaning and disinfection of crates and trucks used for duck transport: field observations during the H5N8 avian influenza outbreaks in France in 2017.

Transport of infected birds is thought to play a key role in the spread of avian influenza (AI) on poultry farms during epizootic outbreaks. Ensuring efficient cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of equipment used for transport is needed to prevent the spread of AI. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy against the AI virus of C&D protocols applied on trucks and crates used for the transport of ducks during the H5N8 AI outbreaks in France in 2017.

Husbandry Practices, Health, and Welfare Status of Organic Broilers in France.

Organic poultry production has increased sharply with growing consumer demand in the context of sustainable development. A study was conducted in 85 organic broiler flocks between 2014 and 2015 to describe the husbandry practices and the health and welfare status of organic broilers in France, and to study farming diversity by comparing independent farms (Ind farms, = 15) with direct sales to farms working with companies (Comp farms, = 70). Each flock was visited at 3 and 11 weeks of age to collect data on farming conditions, health disorders, and mortality.

Associations between animal welfare indicators and Campylobacter spp. in broiler chickens under commercial settings: A case study.

Few studies have previously investigated how poor animal welfare might be associated with infection of zoonotic pathogens in humans. This paper assesses the predictive value of the presence of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken flocks when animal-based measures related to footpad dermatitis, hock burns, body lesions and arthritis are identified under commercial conditions (high density).

Dust exposure and health of workers in duck hatcheries.

Objectives: The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to investigate dust exposure and respiratory health of workers in duck hatcheries in western France.

Material And Methods: Ninety volunteer workers, who work in sorting rooms and/or incubation rooms, participated in exposure assessments and medical examinations. Medical examinations were performed by occupational health practitioners.

Hens can ingest extruded polystyrene in rearing buildings and lay eggs contaminated with hexabromocyclododecane.

The overall concentration of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) in eggs is low although abnormally high concentrations exceeding 3000 ng g lw have been reported. In order to test whether these contaminations may originate from the ingestion of insulating materials in rearing buildings, a group of 55 hens raised in a collective cage was provided with a 64-g piece of extruded polystyrene (XPS, 2.59% HBCDD of which 75, 15 and 10% as α-, β- and γ-HBCDD, respectively).

Effect of Feed Additives on Productivity and spp. Loads in Broilers Reared under Free Range Conditions.

The poultry reservoir, especially broiler meat, is generally recognized as one of the most-important sources for human Campylobacteriosis. The measures to control targeted essentially the primary production level. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments against natural colonization in a French experimental farm of free-range broilers during the whole rearing period.

Enantiomer-specific accumulation and depuration of α-hexabromocyclododecane (α-HBCDD) in chicken (Gallus gallus) as a tool to identify contamination sources.

A LC-ESI(-)-HRMS method dedicated to the analysis of 6 HBCDD enantiomers at trace levels in animal matrices was developed, using a cellulose based stationary phase with a particle size of 2.5 μm. This method was applied to a sample set derived from a kinetic study of α-HBCDD previously conducted in fast- and slow-growing chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus, n = 49, plus controls), in order to study the enantiomer specific accumulation and depuration of α-HBCDD in various tissues.

Risk factors for Listeria monocytogenes contamination in French laying hens and broiler flocks.

The objective of this study was to identify potential risk factors for Listeria monocytogenes contamination in French poultry production. Eighty-four flocks of layer hens kept in cages and 142 broiler flocks were included in this study. For each production type, a questionnaire was submitted to farmers and fecal samples were taken to assess the L.

Isolation of Salmonella enterica in laying-hen flocks and assessment of eggshell contamination in France.

The present investigation was conducted in conjunction with the European Union baseline study for the estimation of Salmonella prevalence in laying-hen flocks. It aimed at evaluating eggshell contamination in farms positive for Salmonella, characterizing the genetic patterns of Salmonella strains and identifying the factors associated with Salmonella contamination of eggshells. For this purpose, a total of 4,200 eggs were collected from 28 positive flocks and analyzed according to draft Annex D of International Organization for Standardization Method 6579.

Risk factors for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica contamination in 519 French laying hen flocks at the end of the laying period.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to identify risk factors for Salmonella spp. contamination in French laying hen flocks at the end of the laying period. Five hundred and nineteen flocks were studied between October 2004 and September 2005.