Document Type : Short Communication
Authors
1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran
2 Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran
3 Department of Avian Diseases, Surveillance Networks, Iran Veterinary Organization, Yasuj, Iran
Abstract
Fungal infections cause significant economic losses in the poultry industry either due to their direct infectious nature or due to mycotoxins production. Hatchery contamination with fungi can threaten chicken health. In this regard, geographical and seasonal distributions of airborne fungal contamination of 25 hatcheries in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, were investigated using an open plate method. The results of this study showed that hatcheries have various fungal contaminations, among which the most common were respectively Cladosporium (31.07%), Penicillium (24.00%), Aspergillus (20.63%), sterile hyphae (14.70%) and Alternaria (6.20%) from different regions. The results revealed that the highest level of fungal isolation was in spring and autumn. This study also showed that the concentration of fungal air spora in forest and seaside locations was significantly greater than mountainous ones. In spite of the regular disinfection in commercial hatcheries, fungal contamination was found in different parts.
Keywords
Main Subjects
- Zureik M, Neukirch C, Leynaert B, et al. Sensitization to airborne molds and severity of asthma: Cross-sectional study from European Community respiratory health survey. Br Med J 2002; 325 (7361): 411-414.
- Hashempour A, Sadeghi Zali MH, Delshad R, et al. A study on the existence of Aspergillus in birds in the farms around Urmia-Iran. J Stored Prod Postharvest Res 2011; 2(11): 235-236.
- Berrang ME, Cox NA, Bailey JS. Measuring air-borne microbial contamination of broiler hatching cabinets. J Appl Poult Res 1995; 4(1): 83-87.
- Buxton A, Fraser G. Animal Microbiology. Vol. I. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Scientific Publication.1977; 85-99.
- Sambyal DS, Baxi KK, Katcoh RC. A study of the mycoflora of hatcheries. Mycosen 1981; 24 (5): 313-317.
- Alwakeel SS, Nasser LA. Indoor terrestrial fungi in household dust samples in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Microbiol J 2011; 1 (1): 17-24.
- Degobbi C, Lopes FDTQS, Carvalho-Oliveira R, et al. Correlation of fungi and endotoxin with Pm2.5 and meteorological parameters in atmosphere of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Atmos Environ 2011; 45 (13): 2277-2283.
- Simoes SA, Junior DPL, Hahn RC. Fungal microbiota in air-conditioning installed in both adult and neonatal intensive treatment units and their impact in two university hospitals of the central western region, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mycopathologia 2011; 172 (2): 109-116.
- Ajoudanifar H, Hedayati MT, Mayahi S, et al. Volumetric assessment of airborne indoor and outdoor fungal at poultry and cattle house in the Mazandaran province, Iran. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2011; 62 (3): 243-248.
- Sen B, Asan A. Fungal flora in indoor and outdoor air of different residential houses in Tekirdag City (Turkey): Seasonal distribution and relationship with climatic factors. Environ Monit Assess 2009; 151 (1-4): 209-219.
- Larsen L, Gravesen S. Seasonal variation of outdoor airborne viable micro fungi in Copenhagen, Denmark. Grana 1991; 30 (2): 467-471
- Soliman ES, Sobeih MAA, Ahmad ZH, et al. Seasonal epidemiological surveillance on bacterial and fungal pathogens in broiler farms in Egypt. Int J Poult Sci 2009; 8 (8): 720-727.
- Wobeser GA. Aspergillosis. In: Wobeser GA (Ed). Diseases of wild waterfowl. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Plenum Press1997; 95-101.
- Pepeljnjak S, Segvic M. Occurrence of fungi in air and on plants investigation of different climatic regions in Croatia. Aerobiologia 2003; 19 (1): 11-19.
- Burch M, Levetin E. Effect of meteorological conditions on spore plumes. Int J Biometeorol 2002; 46 (3): 107-117.
- Eckman MK, Morgan-Jones G. Fungus species isolated from commercial hatcheries in Alabama. Avian Dis 1979; 23(1): 204-208.
- DoupniK BJr, Bell DK. Toxicity to chicks of Aspergillus and Penicillium species isolated from moldy pecans. Appl Microbiol 1971; 21 (6): 1104-1106.
- Adam, SEI. Hepatotoxic activity of plant poisons and mycotoxins in domestic animals. Vet Bull 1974; 44: 767-776.
- Lugauskas A, Krikstaponis A, Sveistyte L. Airborne fungi in industrial environments - potential agents of respiratory diseases. Ann Agric Environ Med 2004; 11 (1): 19-25.
- Gent JF, Kezik JM, Hill ME, et al. Household mold and dust allergens: Exposure, sensitization and childhood asthma morbidity. Environ Res 2012; 118: 86-93.
)