Application of a micro-aerosolized disinfectant to clear Mycoplasma gallisepticum from contaminated facilities1

SUMMAR Infectious agents and their associated diseases can be significant barriers in the production of poultry and zoonotic agents associated with poultry flocks can ultimately endanger consumers. To this end, poultry producers employ a variety of strategies to minimize associated risks. Disinfectants are widely utilized in the poultry industry to limit encounters with avian pathogens and zoonotic agents. These disinfectants are readily applied by a variety of means to both equipment and facilities to reduce pathogenic populations and minimize their associated risk. While a variety of disinfectants and application means are currently available, the search for more efficacious products and technologies continues. Recently, technology has been developed that may be applicable to the poultry industry for pathogen reduction. The NebuPure™ disinfecting system was developed as a means to decontaminate facilities harboring human pathogens. The system utilizes a novel dispersal unit to suspend an electrochemically activated solution in enclosed facilities and allows for largely automated decontamination. To test the NebuPure™ disinfecting system for poultry-related applications, a research facility was seeded with plate cultures of the avian respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). The facility was then treated with the NebuPure™ disinfecting system with exposure times of 1 or 4 h. Following incubation, no growth was observed among exposed plates, while control plates were 100% positive for MG. The research demonstrates the efficacy of the NebuPure™ disinfecting system for disinfecting MG-contaminated facilities and indicates that the system may be used against other poultry-associated pathogens.