THE FACTS 4

2007

Determination of disinfectant residues in tissue after oral supplementation of drinking water with F10SC disinfectant

Michael Stanford FRCVS  Dirk Verwoerd MRCVS  Dawie Malan MSc  Thea Coetzee M Tech

Summary

F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant (F10SC) was administered to poultry continuously in the drinking water at two dilution rates (1:1000 and 1:250). Tissue samples were examined for disinfectant residues using a biological disc inhibition assay at day 35 of the study. No significant residues (P>.0.05) were detected in liver, muscle or kidney tissues at either dilution rate compared with a control group. There was no significant increase in mortality (P>0.05) in the F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant treatment groups over the control group. It is concluded that F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant can be added to the water supplies of poultry and other avian species or by nebulising in an attempt to reduce disease or improve water quality without the risk of producing tissue residues.

Introduction

F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant (F10SC) is a novel quaternary ammonia compound based disinfectant which by independent tests and trials has been shown to be effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in addition to fungal spores. Similarly the disinfectant has been shown to be non-toxic, non-irritant, non-corrosive and biodegradable . Due to both its safety and efficacy F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant has been increasingly used in applications where the diluted solution is inhaled through nebulisation or as an aerosol over-spray (fogging) rather than just as a surface disinfectant. It has been administered through the drinking water to improve the water quality in automatic drinking systems in both broiler and layer operations thereby reducing bacterial challenges during production. It has been used as therapy during outbreaks against infective agents such as Avian Influenza Virus, Newcastle Disease Virus and Infectious Bursal Disease Virus.

Material and Methods

The trial was conducted under the auspices of the Republic of South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council (ARC) at their Animal Nutrition and Animal Products Institute facility at Irene, Gauteng Province. Subsequent sensitivity and tissue
analysis testing was carried out at the ARC’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute’s (OVI) Residue Laboratory (South African National Accreditation Service (SANAS) accredited laboratory).

The trial was conducted using 153 as hatched Ross 788 day-old broilers obtained commercially. The birds were placed randomly into a small broiler experimental house. The facility consisted of 9 pens with each pen containing 17 chickens. This study was run in the form of a 3 x 1 block design with each treatment replicated 3 times.

During the period no additives, growth stimulants, coccidiostats or medicines were included in the feed.

Upon arrival at the research site, the chickens were examined and any obviously sick or dehydrated birds were culled. Standard management techniques were followed as described by the suppliers of the Ross chickens (Ross Broiler Management Manual, 2002) and the same care and management was provided to all the birds used in the study. All birds were housed in wire pens with the floor covered with approximately 5cm wood shavings. Each pen was equipped with a 10-liter fountain drinker and a plastic tube feeder. The house temperature at the start of the study was kept as close as possible to 32 °C whereafter it was decreased with a gradient as the chickens grew older. All the broilers received broiler starter and finisher diets formulated to commercial specifications that contained no additional medication or supplementation. The feed was formulated and mixed at the ARC Poultry Nutrition facilities at Irene. The birds received no vaccines.

The water treatments were administered to each group as follows

Broilers were selected randomly from each group (16 broiler chickens from the control treatment and 30 broiler chickens each from both the F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant treatments). After the birds had been killed humanely tissue samples (158) where initial taken from across the 3 groups consisting of breast meat and liver and a further (14) confirmation samples of thigh meat and kidney. Feed and water samples were also submitted to the ARC-OVI Laboratories for residue detection. A biological assay based on disc inhibition zones in cultures of Bacilis subtilis were used to detect disinfectant residues. A sensitivity evaluation test determined that F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant would be detected at concentrations of 1:9000 and greater using the indicator microorganisms (Bacilis subtilis)

Results

Statistical analysis of the performance data utilised a procedure test with significance reported with 95% confidence limits.

Detection of F10SC residues in tissue residues at day 35

A summary of the feed and water samples and the tissue sample residue tests are given in Table 1 below.

Effect of F10SC disinfectant supplementation on mortality

Mortalities encountered over the 35 day test period are shown in Table 2.

Effect of F10SC disinfectant supplementation on water and feed intake

Although the sole purpose of the study was to determine F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant residues in the tissue samples taken, a note was nevertheless made of water and feed intake over the 35 day period. It should be noted that the manufacturers recommended concentrations of F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant for continuous supplementation of drinking water to improve water quality are from 1:20,000 to 1:40,000 and from 1:2500 to 1:10,000 when used to reduce bacterial infections in poultry dependant upon the type of microorganism contamination.

Conclusions

This study was not designed to evaluate the disinfectant F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant in an application in a commercial broiler production unit as other studies have demonstrated potential uses and effectiveness of the disinfectant in disease control. The sole purpose of this study was to prepare chickens over a rearing period of 35 days to determine whether F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant has any residual effect in broiler tissue that could be detected in an accredited inhibitory substances laboratory test.

Although the concentrations used in the study of 1:1000 and 1:250 of F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant far exceed the manufacturer’s recommendations for continuous long-term use in drinking water the results showed there was no indication of residues in chicken meat (breast and thigh) or organs (liver and kidneys). The results suggest that the manufacturer’s recommended concentrations of F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant for improving water quality to reduce microbiological contamination of 1:20,000 to 1:40,000 and from 1:2500 to 1:10,000 when used to reduce bacterial infections will not result in any inhibitory substances residues.

Alternatively the addition of F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant to the drinking water of poultry to reduce the occurrence of bacterial, Salmonella or E.coli, infections and mycotic disease in poultry would be potentially very useful.

Similarly the use of F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant as a long-term treatment in exotic birds might also be considered to be a safe option in refractory cases of aspergillosis where F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant is used by nebulisation as therapy for the treatment of Aspergillus fumigatus in exotic avian species or by overspraying (fogging) in the presence of birds to reduce surface and airborne microbiological contamination at the higher recommended concentrations of 1:250; F10 Super Concentrate disinfectant is unlikely to result in a build-up of chemical residues or side effects sometimes associated with systemic treatments.

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