Salmonella awareness and related management practices in U.S. urban backyard chicken flocks

Raising chickens in urban settings is a growing phenomenon in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) conducted a cross-sectional study to better understand health and management of privately owned chicken flocks, and Salmonella awareness among chicken owners, in three urban settings-Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and Miami, Florida. Feed stores in each city were visited by data collectors during summer 2010, and customers who owned chickens were asked to complete a questionnaire. A convenience sample of 449 feed store customers was selected, and 382 (85.1%) customers participated in the study. For analysis, a stratified random sample was assumed, with the strata being individual feed stores. Median flock sizes were 5, 11 and 19 chickens in Denver, Los Angeles and Miami, respectively. In all three cities, over three-fourths of flocks contained table egg chicken breeds on the day the questionnaire was completed. In Denver, 20.4% of flocks had another species of bird present in addition to chickens, compared with 65.6% of flocks in Los Angeles and 53.6% of flocks in Miami. At the time of data collection in 2010, less than 50% of respondents in Miami and Los Angeles (40.0 and 30.2%, respectively) were aware of a connection between poultry contact, such as contact with chicks or ducks, and Salmonella infection in people, compared to 63.5% of respondents in Denver. Urban chicken flock owners who completed the questionnaire in English were more likely to be aware of the connection between poultry contact and Salmonella, compared with respondents who completed the questionnaire in Spanish (OR=3.5). The likelihood of Salmonella awareness was also higher for respondents who had heard of USDA's Biosecurity for Birds educational campaign and for respondents who sold or gave away eggs from their flocks (OR=2.5 and 2.8, respectively). Study findings demonstrate the importance of reaching the Spanish speaking population when creating educational outreach programs to reduce Salmonella infections in people who have live poultry contact.