EVALUATION OF A VEHICLE UNDERCARRIAGE DECONTAMINATION SYSTEM FOR INACTIVATING NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS
Date
2019-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The major focus of the present study was to evaluate an affordable and portable undercarriage decontamination system for poultry farmers to disinfect their vehicles. These washing stations are necessary to disinfect vehicles moving between farms, avoiding spread of infectious material. Commercialized undercarriage decontamination systems are typically expensive and permanent due to their size, thus limiting use among small-scale farmers. Constructed of materials available to most farmers including PVC pipes and simple tools, the undercarriage decontamination system built for this study is cost friendly and portable. To evaluate the area coverage of the spray rig, litmus paper strips were affixed to various locations on the truck exterior and undercarriage and sprayed with a diluted citric acid solution. The spray rig effectively covered all areas of the truck with the citric acid solution. Next, galvanized steel coupons inoculated with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) were adhered onto the truck using magnets and passed through the decontamination system. Three coupons orientations (horizontal, vertical, and complex) were chosen to test the decontamination system’s ability to target various locations on the truck. Two solutions, one peroxide agent and one detergent, were used to evaluate differences in effectiveness of a disinfectant versus a cleaning agent. The viral material from the steel coupons was pooled by orientation type and inoculated into 10-day old specific pathogen free eggs. Eggs were incubated and candled for five days to monitor mortality. Chorionic allotonic fluid was collected from each egg and used in hemagglutination assays. The median embryo infective dose for each treatment group and positive control were calculated based on hemagglutination assay results. The decontamination system successfully inactivated virus in the horizontal orientation but
failed in the vertical and complex locations. However, the system lowered the titer of NDV in these cases, achieving up to a two-log drop. Adjustments to the decontamination system are needed to improve its efficacy.
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Keywords
Pre-veterinary medicine, New Castle disease virus, decontamination