Bioeconomy

Innovations in poultry farming: UV disinfection instead of antibiotics

Research News /

Infectious diseases pose a huge problem in poultry farming. Poultry farmers are often forced to rely on antibiotics to tackle this issue. However, this can sometimes result in germs developing resistance to these drugs. These resistant pathogens then find their way into our food via animal products. The frequent use of antibiotics can therefore pose potential health risks to both animals and humans. With the help of a compact device that combines several processes, including UV disinfection, photocatalysis and particle filtration, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB, Institute for Advanced Systems Technology (AST) have been working alongside their partners to sustainably reduce the use of antibiotics while improving the air quality in barns to promote animal welfare.