FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Consistent approach to get rid of Salmonella
Dutch broiler farmer Ad Jansen (54) got rid of a persistent Salmonella infection by applying multiple measures. These included filling cracks and seams and placing beetle strips, together with consistent cleaning, disinfection and sampling after each flock. His consultant, Jan van Beers of De Heus Voeders, noted the appearance of different Salmonella strains, making the battle even more challenging.
BY DICK VAN DOORN B Profile
roiler farmer Ad Jansen from Luyksgestel in the Netherlands keeps 90,000 broilers in three poultry houses. The broilers Jansen produces as an inde- pendent farmer are bought by De Heus Voeders.
De Heus Voeders subsequently sells the animals to slaugh- terhouses in the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2016, stables 2 and 3 tested positive for Salmonella infantis. Jan van Beers, consultant and Salmonella expert at De Heus and Jansen
Name: Ad Jansen (54) Location: Luyksgestel (Netherlands) Farm: 90,000 broilers in 3 houses.
believe that the Salmonella infection was probably caused by tainted bedding material. “I was testing new bedding material to achieve lower foot pad lesion scores,” Jansen explains. “After this ordeal I returned to using wood chips again.” Some Salmonella strains were easy to fight in the past but in recent years there has been a change, especially with the emerging Infantis strain. “We have a lot of experience with the persistent Salmonella java,” says Van Beers. “This may not be a zoonosis, like Enteritis and Typhimurium but at some companies it was very hard to get rid of it,” he contin- ues. ”Salmonella infantis was always easy to combat but that has changed completely. Another complication is that In- fantis is currently overtaking the number of Java infections,” Van Beers adds. “Both in numbers and in degree of difficulty to overcome.” Given that the infection was probably caused by bedding material Van Beers advises poultry farmers always to choose certified products.
Plan of Action Because all the parties involved in the production process, in- cluding slaughterhouses, want Salmonella-negative birds, Jansen and Van Beers set up a Plan of Action. They called on the retired vet Pim Eshuis to help them set it up. The Plan was ready in October 2017. “I always point out to broiler farmers the mental pressure that such an Action Plan creates,” states Van Beers. “It is hard to implement in your daily routine and it takes stamina to achieve results.” The Salmonella expert of the Heus Voeders stresses that it is important to keep the fi- nances under control too. The measures implemented must be effective and in proportion. Starting in October 2017 weekly Salmonella samples were taken at Jansen’s farm for a period of six weeks. “By taking samples every week you can see at what stage the chickens become infected.” Everything was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before the broilers were delivered. After which the sampling began. “We tested everywhere, including all the seams and cracks,” Jansen adds. And it was these seams and cracks that were found to be Salmonella-positive. So they all
18 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 4, 2020
PHOTOS: DICK VAN DOORN
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