ABSTRACT
In another study in 2001, Cox et al. collected eggshell fragments, paper pads from chick boxes, and fluff samples from three commercial primary breeder hatcheries and analyzed for the presence and level of salmonellae with identical laboratory methods in 1991 and 1998. Overall, 29 of 180 samples (16.1%) from the three
hatcheries in 1998 were contaminated with salmonellae, whereas in 1991, 11.1% of the overall samples were salmonellae positive (Cox et al., 2001). Salmonellae were detected in 1.7% of eggshell fragments, 1.7% of fluff samples, and 48% of the paper pad samples in 1998, whereas 15.2%, 4.5%, and 12% of these type samples, respectively, were salmonellae positive in 1991. ’e authors reported that, although the percentage of positive samples was slightly higher in 1998 than 1991, from an enumeration standpoint, the salmonellae contamination in primary breeder hatcheries seemed to have improved in the 7 years. In 1998, less than 4% of the positive samples had high levels of salmonellae, whereas 36% of the positive samples in 1991 had high numbers of salmonellae. ’us, it seemed that the industry was able to reduce the number of samples with high concentrations of Salmonella over the 7-year period. It is unclear how this reduction would have an impact on colonization spread during grow out.
