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Volume 32, Number 4—April 2026
Research
Respirable Aerosol Production and Reduction of Avian Influenza Transmission Risk during Chicken Processing, Bangladesh
, Md. Khaled Saifullah, Md. Habibullah Fahad, Kamal Hossain, Rebeca Sultana, Ireen Sultana Shanta, David E. Swayne, Syed Mohammad Golam Mortaza, Md. Giasuddin, Md. Zakir Hassan, Christopher LeBoa, Debashish Biswas, Mahbubur Rahman, Joshua A. Mott, Erin D. Kennedy, and William G. Lindsley1
Table
PM2.5 mass concentration across combined sensor positions during experiments of chicken slaughtering and defeathering methods in study of respirable aerosol production and reduction of avian influenza transmission risk during chicken processing, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Savar, Dhaka, 2020*
| Method | Mean PM2.5 mass concentration during baseline, µg/m3 (min–max)† | Mean PM2.5, µg/m3 (SD) | PM2.5 mass concentration difference from referent, µg/m3 | Percentage of reduced PM2.5 mass concentration (95% CI) | p value‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single chicken slaughtering, n = 27 | |||||
| Open barrel without lid | 11.1 (10–18) | 49.6 (25.4) | Referent | – | – |
| Barrel covered with solid lid | 10.1 (10–12) | 14.1 (5.5) | –35.5 | –71.6 (–77.7 to –63.9) | <0.001 |
| Barrel covered with star-cut lid | 10 (10–10) | 13.3 (5.2) | –36.2 | –73.1 (–78.9 to –65.8) | <0.001 |
| Small cone | 10.3 (10–16) | 57.4 (47.7) | 7.8 | 15.7 (–19.6 to 66.6) | 0.458 |
| Large cone |
11.4 (10–24) |
44.4 (31.6) |
–5.2 |
–10.5 (–35.5 to 24.2) |
0.509 |
| Multiple chicken slaughtering, n = 27§ | |||||
| Open barrel without lid | 10.4 (10–14) | 130.1 (27.5) | Referent | – | – |
| Barrel covered with solid lid | 10 (10–10) | 36 (13.6) | –84.5 | –64.8 (–69.2 to –59.7) | <0.001 |
| Barrel covered with star-cut lid | 10.7 (10–20) | 34.3 (21.2) | –85.5 | –65.5 (–71.9 to –57.7) | <0.001 |
| Small cone | 10.2 (10–12) | 112 (52.3) | –8.3 | –6.3 (–21.6 to 11.9) | 0.470 |
| Large cone |
12.6 (10–36) |
131 (60.1) |
13.1 |
10 (–8.2 to 31.8) |
0.327 |
| Single chicken defeathering, n = 9 | |||||
| Open machine without lid | 10 (10–10) | 20 (6.5) | Referent | – | – |
| Machine half covered by hinged lid | 10 (10–10) | 17.5 (6.7) | –2.5 | –12.5 (–36.4 to 20.5) | 0.438 |
| Machine partially covered by lid with hole | 10 (10–10) | 13.3 (3.4) | –6.7 | –33.5 (–49.0 to –13.3) | 0.019 |
| Machine fully covered by lid with hole and pivot door | 10 (10–10) | 10.0 (0.0) | –10 | –50 (–59.4 to –38.5) | 0.002 |
| Machine fully covered by solid lid | 10 (10–10) | 10.0 (0.1) | –10 | –49.9 (–59.3 to –38.3) | 0.002 |
*PM2.5, particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter. †PM2.5 mass concentrations were measured for 5 minutes before each experiment. ‡Calculated using 2-sample t-test. 1.25% was considered as level of significance instead of 5% according to Bonferroni correction.
1Current affiliation: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.