When Low-Tech = High Performance

Campylobacter rivals Salmonella as the most common cause of food-borne gastrointestinal disease worldwide. Both microbes are especially prevalent in poultry flocks. Cross-contamination of cooked food with raw poultry, and eating undercooked poultry are two of the most common ways that people become infected with Campylobacter.

Now, some Danish researchers have come up with a low-tech, inexpensive way to reduce the incidence of Campylobacter in poultry houses. They simply installed fly screens on all the ventilation openings. As a result, the percentage of Campylobacter-infected flocks of poultry dropped from 51% to 15%. While screening the ventilation openings in poultry houses isn't the complete answer to controlling Campylobacter, it's certainly a big help.

It's common knowledge that flies carry diseases. Isn't it nice that someone has applied that knowledge effectively?