Who's playing chicken here?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

"Tailgating a tractor trailer is much more dangerous than being around live chickens," the National Chicken Council in the United States said in December. That statement follows widespread publicity regarding a John Hopkins University study claiming that diseases could be spread by transporting chickens in crates on flatbed trucks.

In the study, published in the first issue of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, scientists took samples from air and the surface of cars driven "two to three car lengths" behind chicken trucks for 17 miles.

"Air samples collected inside the cars showed increased concentrations of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains, that could be inhaled," a press release issued by John Hopkins University Bloomingdale School of Public Health said.

The study was conducted on the Delmarva Peninsula, a coastal area shared by Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. The cars were driven with all windows open and air conditioners and fans shut off.

"The findings support the need for further exposure characterization and attention to improving methods of biosecurity in poultry production, especially for regions of high density farming," the John Hopkins press release said.

The chicken truck study "is unrealistic in that few people would choose to tailgate a load of live chickens for
17 miles with the windows rolled down," the poultry council news release said. "The recommended safe following distance (to avoid an accident) is at least five seconds." BF