Developing a method to estimate aerosol generation during poultry slaughtering and defeathering in Bangladesh: An experimental study

Influenza viruses can be aerosolized when slaughtering infected chickens, which increases the risk of zoonotic transmission. We conducted pilot experiments to measure the concentrations of airborne particles <2.5 µm during slaughtering and defeathering of chickens to help identify methods that can minimize workers’ exposure to potentially hazardous aerosol particles. By using two types of airborne particle monitors stationed at different heights and angles in a controlled environment, we measured aerosolized particulate matters during exsanguination of 10 slaughtered chickens and use of a mechanical device for defeathering 10 chickens. For the slaughtering experiments, the median particle concentrations at 148 cm height were 67 µg/m³ (IQR 44–121) with a baseline count 10 µg/m³ (IQR 10–10) for the Particle and Temperature Sensor + (PATS+) monitors and 34 µg/m³ (IQR 34–64) with a baseline count 25 µg/m³ (IQR 16–44) for the SidePak™ monitor. For the defeathering experiments, the median particle concentrations recorded by the PATS+ monitors were not significantly different between 148 cm (41 µg/m³, IQR 29–49; baseline 12 µg/m³, IQR 10–19) and 107 cm height (37 µg/m³, IQR 29–44; baseline 13 µg/m³, IQR 10–22). Our protocol can be used to test the generation of airborne particles that are <2.5 µm during different slaughtering and defeathering techniques used in the live bird markets to identify procedures that produce the lowest concentrations of small aerosol particles.