AAAP: Contact time is key when disinfecting with ultraviolet light
Ultraviolet light can help maintain low microbial loads in turkey barns
23 September 2024
2 minute read
By: Editor's note: The following is from a poster presentation by Katherine Schaefbauer, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Minnesota, during the 2024 annual meeting of the American Association of Avian Pathologists.
The cleaning and disinfection step is a crucial part in raising safe and healthy turkeys. Keeping the microbial load as minimal as possible in barns can increase performance, reduce antibiotics, and minimize bacterial and viral expansion and evolution. Ultraviolet (UVC) light when applied correctly can be beneficial in maintaining low microbial loads.
Multiple trials were conducted to test two different ultraviolet light technologies. The first lights (Light A) were UVC lights with a lower wavelength allowing for safe human interaction. These lights require more contact time but can be on and are disinfecting 24/7.
The second lights (Light B) were UVC lights that have a higher wavelength and are unsafe for human interaction. These lights require less contact time but cannot be operational 24/7.
Swabs of barns and service rooms were placed on Eosin-Methylene Blue (EMB) and Blood agar plates prior to light installation and reswabbed at several time points during the first 24 hours post light installation.
Compared to pre-light exposure swabs, Light A saw an increased proportion of no growth on the EMB plates by 64% and 80% at 3 and 24 hours post installation, respectively. Light B saw an increase proportion of no growth on the EMB plates by 42.5% at 3 hours post installation.
These findings show that contact time and exposure to the UVC light is more beneficial than the intensity of the wavelength when reducing the microbial load present in a barn.
