Assessment of Bioaerosols in Swine Barns by Filtration and Impaction

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Abstract
Bioaerosol concentrations inside one naturally ventilated and one mechanically ventilated swine finishing barn were assessed by sampling air using membrane filtration and impaction (six-stage Andersen sampler), and assayed by culture method. The barns, located on the same commercial farm in northeast Kansas, did not show any significant difference (p > 0.05) in concentrations of total and respirable airborne microorganisms. The overall mean total concentrations inside the two barns were 6.6 × 104 colony forming units (CFU)/m3 (SD = 3.8 × 104 CFU/m3) as measured by filtration and 8.6 × 104 CFU/m3 (SD = 5.1 × 104 CFU/m3) by impaction. The overall mean respirable concentrations were 9.0 × 103 CFU/m3 (SD = 4.1 × 103 CFU/m3) measured by filtration and 2.8 × 104 CFU/m3 (SD = 2.2 × 104 CFU/m3) by impaction. Total and respirable CFU concentrations measured by impaction were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that by filtration. The persistent strains of microorganisms were various species of the following genera: Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Listeria, Enterococcus, Nocardia, Lactobacillus, and Penicillium. It appears that filtration sampling can be used for a qualitative survey of bioaerosols in swine barns while the Andersen sampler is suitable for both quantitative and qualitative assessments.

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