Feedborne Salmonella Tennessee outbreak in pigs and laying hens in Finland

1
Feedborne Salmonella Tennessee outbreak in pigs
and laying hens in Finland

• Terhi Laaksonen MAF
• 11.9.2009

2
First signs of the outbreak

• Usual situation 0-2 Salmonella positive laying
  hen flocks and pig herds in a year
• February 2009Salmonella Tennessee in 2 laying
  hen holdings and in one lymphnode sample of
  slaughter pig in routine control samples
• March 2009 S. Tennessee detected from feed
  samples taken at farms and at the feed mill

3
Feed mill

• 24 of the industrial feed produced in FI
• 9 production lines
• Salmonella contaminated feed produced in one line
  (8 of the production in feed mill, 2 of
  average yearly production in FI)
• Protein concentrate for pigs and layersAlso some
  complete feed

4
Contaminated Production Line

• Old constructions, heating 60 C
• Several earlier detections of S. Tennessee in
  production environment samples (dust) near the
  line
• Salmonella growth in the cooler
• possibly contaminated feed produced 12.12.2008 -
  10.3.2009

5
Sampling at farms

• Sampling of all the holdings received feed
  produced in the contaminated line between
  12.12.2008 - 10.3.2009
• 288 laying hen holdings (1100 in FI)
• 546 pig holdings (2500 in FI)
• Official sampling faecal/socks samples and dust
  from layers and faecal samples from pigs, also
  feed samples from part of the holdings
• Sampling of the feed system (dust/swabs) at
  suspected holdings by industry

6
Results

• Laying hen holdings - together 40 positive
  holdings- 30 faecal/dust positive 2 contact
  farms
• Pig holdings- together 50 positive holdings-
  10 faecal positive 2 contact farms
• in addition one Tennessee positive broiler farm
  and one turkey farm

7
Measures at suspected and salmonella positive
holdings

• Table eggs and meat from suspected holdings
  banned by industry until test results ready
• Official restrictions only to faecal positive
  holdings (or dust positive in layers)
• Sanitation and eradication plans at all positive
  holdings (including feed system)
• no registered human cases

8
Costs

• Not yet calculations
• Strict liability of Feed business operator
• No doubts about continuing zero tolerance
  politics for all Salmonella serotypes

9
Roles of public and privat sector

• Evira and other officials- faecal sampling at
  suspected farms- setting and releasing the
  official restrictions- instructions for official
  sampling (with ETT)
• ETT and other industry- feed environmental
  sampling- voluntary restrictions- guidelines
  and instructions for farms of sampling,
  sanitation, eradication etc.- organizing culling
  of animals

10

• Together- sanitation and eradication at farms
  ETT at bigger farms, municipal vets at smaller
  farms. Training and consultation of municipal
  vets by ETT- meetings between Evira and ETT
  about how to handle with the situation
• Difficulties in changing the information

11
To improve the action at farm level

• Possible amendments to legislation- compulsory
  feed environmental samples at farms-
  official restrictions based on suspicion-
  clearer rules for sanitation and eradication
  plans
• Discussions needed on roles and responsibilities
  of authorities and private sector (ETT) in
  outbreak situations

12
To prevent in the future

• Report of the working group appointed by MAF
  18.8.2009 (MAF, Evira, ETT)
• - stricter legislation for own control
• minimum sampling frequencies and minimum sampling
  sites (production environment sampling)
• higher sampling rate for certain imported risk
  feed materials?
• compulsory heat treatment 81C
• drafting national legislation autumn 2009
• Independent evaluation of the outbreak(Per
  Häggblom, SVA)