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Research Article

Evaluation of selected physical and microbiological parameters of air in a box-stall stable

Katarzyna Budzińska, Bożena Szejniuk, Anita Jurek, Magdalena Michalska, Adam Traczykowski, Krzysztof Berleć

University of Science and Technology, Department of Animal Hygiene and Microbiology of the Environment, Mazowiecka 28, Bydgoszcz 85-084, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 15(1), 2016, 3‒18
2. DOI: 10.21005/asp.2016.15.1.01

Abstract. The aim of the study was to evaluate selected physical and microbiological air parameters. The analysis was conducted during the spring, summer, fall and winter in a box-stall stable with Wielkopolski horses. The physical air parameters were measured according to generally established methods used in livestock science. The air was evaluated for microbial contamination by the impaction method; 12 samplings were carried out using a SAS 100 sampler located in three sampling sites of the stable: the initial, middle, and end part of the building. The numbers of the following microbes were determined in the analyzed air: total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae cells, streptococci, mannitol positive staphylococci, hemolytic bacteria, actinomycetes and total molds and yeast-like fungi. Measurements of temperature and humidity parameters showed that the average air temperature in the stables was lowest in the winter, 8.2°C with humidity 76.2%, whereas the highest average air temperatures, which averaged 21.2°C with the lowest relative humidity of 60.2%, were recorded in the summer. The other air physical parameters corresponded to the minimum requirements for horses. Microbiological analyses of air samples revealed the presence of bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, staphylococci, streptococci, as well as fungi that can adversely affect the health of horses and people in the stables. We the found air microbial contamination above the standard level, and it depended on microclimate conditions and the season.

Keywords: stable, air, physical parameters, microbiological contamination