A bright future: The use of Far UV as a disinfectant in the livestock industry—Feasibility studies in the dairy and poultry sectors

光明的未来：在畜牧业中使用远紫外线作为消毒剂——乳制品和家禽行业的可行性研究

• 批准号: 10052824
• 金额: $ 35.73万
• 依托单位: HUDSON & SANDERS LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10052824
• 关键词: bright; future; use; Far; UV

Farm animal health and welfare has been described as a priority issue in discussions about the future of agricultural policy in the UK. Livestock diseases pose threats to the environment, animal welfare, public health and the economy. Only a limited number of measures developed to combat infectious disease in livestock have been successful and there is a need for more effective control measures.Ultraviolet (UVC) light disinfection systems have been used for many years, due to their efficacy in eliminating pathogens, but were previously unsuitable for direct exposure to humans and animals due to potential damage to the skin and eyes. Far UV technology operates at 222nm wavelength and does not reach live cells in the epidermis, hence does not cause negative effects, yet retains effectiveness in eliminating pathogens. Far UV is currently used in non-agricultural settings to disinfect public spaces and has shown efficacy against a wide range of viruses and bacteria including human coronaviruses, _Escherichia coli 0157_, Influenza viruses, Methicillin-resistant _Staphylococcus aureus_ and has been proven to reduce the overall bacterial count following exposure.Far UV has not been formally trialled in live animal agriculture in the UK and therefore presents a unique opportunity to investigate its possible uses in livestock disease control. Feasibility studies will focus on the dairy and broiler poultry sectors to represent ruminant and monogastric industries where endemic and epidemic diseases lead to major financial losses.The poultry study will focus on the lobbies from which barns are accessed. To assess whether disease transmission into barns can be reduced, Far UV devices will be deployed and environmental swab samples will be taken before and after Far UV exposure. We will also trial Far UV wands to disinfect footwear.In the dairy setting we will focus on calf housing disinfection potential.The efficacy of Far UV will be assessed by measuring microbial counts that also can be used as a proxy for efficacy against viruses: Recent research shows that viruses are more sensitive to deactivation than bacteria and can be eliminated at much lower doses of Far UV than what will be used in this study.This research presents a unique opportunity to develop innovative Far UV based disinfection methods effective against a range of pathogens, including multidrug resistant bacteria, and could form part of more effective disease control programs in the future.

在有关英国农业政策未来的讨论中，农场动物的健康和福利被视为优先问题。牲畜疾病对环境、动物福利、公共卫生和经济构成威胁。为对抗牲畜传染病而开发的措施仅取得了有限的成功，因此需要更有效的控制措施。紫外线 (UVC) 光消毒系统由于其消除病原体的功效而已使用多年，但由于对皮肤和眼睛有潜在损害，以前不适合直接接触人类和动物。远紫外线技术的工作波长为222nm，不会到达表皮的活细胞，因此不会造成负面影响，但仍能有效消灭病原体。远紫外线目前用于非农业环境中对公共空间进行消毒，并已显示出对多种病毒和细菌的功效，包括人类冠状病毒、大肠杆菌 0157、流感病毒、耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌，并已被证明可以减少总体感染率。暴露后的细菌计数。远紫外线尚未在英国的活体动物农业中正式试验，因此提供了一个独特的机会来研究其在牲畜疾病中的可能用途 控制。可行性研究将重点关注乳制品和肉鸡家禽部门，以代表反刍动物和单胃动物行业，地方病和流行病会导致重大经济损失。家禽研究将重点关注进入谷仓的大厅。为了评估是否可以减少疾病传播到谷仓，将部署远紫外线设备，并在远紫外线照射前后采集环境拭子样本。我们还将尝试使用远紫外线棒对鞋类进行消毒。在乳品厂中，我们将重点关注犊牛舍的消毒潜力。远紫外线的功效将通过测量微生物计数来评估，微生物计数也可用作病毒功效的代表：研究表明，病毒比细菌对失活更敏感，并且可以在比本研究中使用的远紫外线剂量低得多的剂量下被消灭。这项研究提供了一个独特的机会，可以开发基于远紫外线的创新消毒方法，有效对抗一系列细菌病原体，包括多重耐药性细菌，并可能成为未来更有效的疾病控制计划的一部分。