Influence of the cleaning and disinfection process for pig farms on the efficiency of decontamination and the persistence of Salmonella

Previous studies about risk factors linked to salmonella prevalence in fattening pigs showed that it is important to observe acleaning and disinfection protocol. IFIP also propose an optimized cleaning and disinfection protocol and a method for measuring its efficiency with Petri dishes. However the link between respect for this protocol, efficiency results with Petri dishes and persistence of Salmonella after cleaning and disinfection has not been studied.In 70 farrow-to-finish pig farms, studies were carried out on the influence of cleaning and disinfection practices on the efficiency of decontamination, estimated by Total bacteria counts in Petri dishes, and on the persistence of Salmonella. A questionnaire describing the cleaning and disinfection practices for various types of room (quarantine, farrowing, post‐weaning, fattening rooms) was carried out and indexes characterising the quality of the cleaning and disinfection process were calculated. Some stages of the cleaning and disinfection process (emptying slurry pits, using detergent, applying foam chemical, correct amount of product used) had a positive impact on the level of decontamination of the room. The persistence of Salmonella was not linked to the protocol used nor to the level of decontamination. It was however, linked to the bacteriological status of Salmonella in sows and the serological status of pigs.