Risk factors for Salmonella detection in commercial layer flocks in Spain
According to new study, several farm-level, flock-level, and sampling-level variables were found to have a strong influence on the probability of detecting Salmonella in commercial layer flocks in Spain. These included location (farm-level), housing system (flock-level), age of animals, sample type, sampler entity, year, and bimester (sampling-level). Specifically, the study found an increased risk of Salmonella detection in flocks housed in cages with older animals and in sampling events conducted by the Competent Authority in the last months of the year. The study recommends that sampling strategies should be optimized to increase the sensitivity of Salmonella detection, particularly in high-risk flocks and during certain months and housing systems.
