Microbiological analysis of indoor and outdoor air on a pig farm in Slavonia

Abstract

Due to a large concentration of animals living in a relatively small area, air on pig farms can be contaminated by microorganisms which can have an adverse effect on animal and human health. To determine the microbiological air quality on a pig farm in Slavonia, as well as the differences in the microbiological air quality at different distances from the farm, air was sampled at five locations at the farm (nursery room, finishing rooms 1 and 2, service room, gestation room) and four locations at a distance of 1.5, 5, 10 and 15 m from the farm in July 2019. At each location, temperature and relative humidity were measured and air for microbiological analysis was collected in quadruplicates (n=36) by impaction method. The total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), as well as yeast and mould counts were determined on blood agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar, respectively, and expressed as CFU/m3. The AMB counts in all five farm locations, as well as the yeast and mould counts in nursery and finishing room 1 exceeded the reference values of 1.05x103 CFU/m3 for AMB and 4.1x102 CFU/m3 for yeasts and moulds. Overall, the AMB load was significantly higher (P0.05). In addition, the abundance of airborne AMB and yeasts and moulds decreased as the distance from the farm increased.

Keywords

• pig farm
• air quality
• bioaerosols
• aerobic mesophilic bacteria
• yeasts and moulds