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Composting to inactivate disease agents Composting utilizes aerobic bacteria and fungi to break organic material into humus-like material called compost. Since the bacteria involved in composting produce heat as they work, few bacterial or viral organisms survive the entire composting process. Compost can be used as a soil amendment or fertilizer. For additional information on composting visit the following web pages: Composting poultry mortality, from North Carolina State University. Worksheet to Determine Size of Poultry Mortality Composter,
from North Carolina State University. Composting animal mortalities on the farm, a publication of
Maryland Cooperative Extension. Composting catastrophic event poultry mortality, a publication
of Maryland Cooperative Extension. Avian influenza virus and Egg Drop Syndrome-76 virus Researchers at the National Veterinary Services laboratory in Ames, Iowa tested the survival of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and egg drop syndrome-76 virus in a two-stage composting procedure (shown below). They included tissues from chickens infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and tissues from chickens infected with egg drop syndrome-76 virus among the chicken carcasses. Some of the infected tissues were tested for virus at 10 days, when the pile was turned and the remaining tissues were tested at 20 days, at the completion of the trial. The avian influenza virus could not be recovered after only 10 days of composting. The egg drop syndrome-76 virus could be recovered at 10 days but not at 20 days. The researchers speculate that the viruses were killed by heat since temperatures remained between 100ºF and 140ºF throughout most of the composting period. They also suggested that the physical nature of avian influenza virus makes it easily inactivated by composting but that egg drop syndrome-76 virus is more stable and thus, harder to inactivate. Method of composting
Source: Senne, D.A., B. Panigrahy, R.L. Morgan. 1994. Effect of composting poultry carcasses on survival of exotic avian viruses: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus and adenovirus of egg drop syndrome-76. Avian Diseases 38:733-737 |
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