Pathogens in Animal Waste

The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center , a National Facilitation Project of the CSREES National Integrated Water Quality Program, and The National Center for Manure & Animal Waste Management , funded by the USDA Fund for Rural America, are important projects helping USDA address this issue.

Pathogens in Animal Wastes

researcher at work Manure and other wastes of various agricultural animals often contain high concentrations of human pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms). If these wastes are not adequately treated and contained, pathogens may enter ground or surface water posing a potential risk to human and animal health. CSREES sponsors research to assess and improve the treatment, storage, and collection of manure to protect and improve water quality.

Please look at the Treatment, Storage, and Collection of Manure page to learn more.

Researchers at the University of Delaware are using avian pathogens and a bacteriophage to model the survival and transport of animal waste pathogens in colloids (which are substances with more than one phase. For example, asphalt is both a liquid and a solid). The outcome of this study will improve our understanding of the behavior of pathogenic viruses in the subsurface environment and provide information on the mobility of viruses via land application of sewage sludge and animal waste.

Researchers at Cornell University are taking a multidisciplinary integrated research, education and extension approach to managing the risk of Cryptosporidium and Salmonella spp. in watersheds. They will identify the internal and external sources of these pathogens that contribute to their persistence on dairy farms.

The University of Rhode Island Extension in conjunction with 4-H Programs are creating an adoption-outreach Extension Education Program to focus on pollution prevention BMPs for small acreage livestock owners and managers. They will research practices by these owners and managers that may contribute excess nutrients, bacteria and other pathogens, organic matter, sediments and odorous compounds to the environment through surveys; train volunteers to facilitate educational programming; and create a 30 minute televised educational video.

Current research at the University of Hawaii is focused on assessing the presence and transport behavior of antibiotics, hormones, and pathogens present in animal wastes as they occur in tropical soils. Laboratory column experiments will be used to assess, observe and quantify the transport of chemicals and microbes. In addition, the researchers will evaluate the current mathematical tolls used to describe the transport and behavior of these pathogens in tropical soils.

cow in pasture The Bioplex program at West Virginia State University involves several projects that are developing new ways to use animal wastes and convert them into assets for farmers, resulting in more efficient and commercially viable digesters and applications. A specific focus of this project is the reduction in pathogens, such as Crypstosporidium, Giardia and Ascaris, from the animals waste during digestion. Four pilot projects have been conducted and four feed frequencies have been compared.

Research at the University of Toledo focuses on monitoring agricultural sewage sludge applied to fields. The project will analyze the physical, chemical and biological impacts of waste application through the contribution of pathogens and heavy metals to aerosols, the impacts of heavy metals and nutrients on the soil and the transport of contaminants in runoff away from the application field. In addition, the researchers will survey residents living in area households to evaluate the potential health effects of living in close proximity to fields amended with agricultural sewage sludge.

The methods of in-house pasteurization of broiler litter are being evaluated through Louisiana State University. This method reduced pathogen counts of broiler litter that will allow the litter to be recycled/reused within poultry houses thereby reducing the amount of poultry waste produced each year.

Research at the University of Illinois evaluating the performance of vegetative filter strips indicate that Cryptosporidium parvam oocysts, human pathogen often originating from animal operations, primarily adhere to or become entrapped within aggregating clay particles and do not adhere substantially to either silt or sand (McLaughlin et al. 2003. ASAE Meeting paper no. 034127).

Scientists with Ohio State University and North Carolina State University developed methods to detect food-borne pathogens in animal waste . They are testing waste before, after, and during treatment, during different seasons, and under different treatment methods. Researchers are also assessing the endurance of microbial organisms in liquid manure applied to fields.

Identifying source-specific fecal pollution is essential for developing effective water quality monitoring and mitigation plans. Researchers at Washington State University , the University of North Carolina , and the University of South Florida are conducting projects involving bacterial source tracking; these methods will help to assess impacts of animal waste management improvements.

Animal operations have been implicated as one of the primary sources of the human pathogen Cryptosporidium parvam in streams. Research at the University of California is being undertaken to understand the natural attenuation of C. parvum during transport from agricultural source areas to surface water supplies. This work will improve the design of buffer zones and small stream restorations to allow for better pathogen removal.

For more information on the current state of knowledge on pathogens in animal wastes, refer to the Pathogens in Animal Wastes and the Impacts of Waste Management Practices on their Survival, Transport, and Fate White Paper Summary produced by the National Center for Manure and Animal Waste Management funded through a USDA CSREES Fund for Rural America Grant.

Indicates work supported by the USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program .

The intent of this page is not to catalogue all activities but rather to indicate the types of research activities in the Animal Waste Management theme across the U.S.