12 th International Symposium on the Epidemiology and Control of Biological, Chemical and Physical Hazards in Pigs and Pork August 21-24, 2017 Foz do Iguaçu - Brazil | 225 CONTROL OF SALMONELLA ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION DURING PIG TRANSPORT AND LAIRAGE: A REALISTIC PROJECT? Mily Leblanc-Maridor *1,2 , Martine Denis 3 , Sandra Rouxel 3 , Françoise Le Gall 3 , Catherine Belloc 1,2 1 INRA, UMR1300 Biology, Epidemiology and Risk Analysis in animal health, F-44307 Nantes, França 2 LUNAM Université, Oniris, Nantes-Atlantic College of veterinary medicine and food sciences and engineering, UMR BioEpAR, BP 40706, F-44307 Nantes, França 3 Anses, Laboratory of Ploufragan/Plouzané, Hygiene and Quality of Poultry and Pig Products Unit, University of Bretagne-Loire, , BP 53, F-22440 Ploufragan, France *Corresponding author: leblanc.maridor@gmail.com Abstract This study aims at investigating Salmonella environmental contamination of trucks and lairage pens and evaluating the efficiency of an improved cleaning and disinfection protocol to reduce Salmonella environmental contamination. During four days, the lairage of two French pig slaughterhouses were sampled twice a day when pigs were present and once at the end of the week after the cleaning protocol. In parallel, six trucks per day were randomly selected and sampled at their arrival and after the cleaning procedure. The samples consisted of floor surface swabbing. Salmonella occurrence, level of contamination and serotypes were determined. The efficiency of different cleaning and disinfection procedures on the presence of Salmonella was also estimated. Salmonella was isolated in 97.7% of the lairage samples when pigs were present (contamination levels >104UFC/m 2 ) and in 65% of the truck samples (contamination levels from <10 to >104UFC/m 2 ). An improved cleaning and disinfection procedure reduced efficiently the occurrence and the level of contamination in the trucks (almost 100%) compared to a simple wash with cold water (no effect), more partially in the lairage. This study showed the importance of a good cleaning and disinfection protocol to decrease the level of contamination or eliminate the bacteria in the trucks used for the transport of pigs. Introduction Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide and the consumption of pork meat is a major source for human infection (EFSA 2014). Salmonella is commonly carried in the intestinal tracts of a wide range of animals, including livestock animals. The organism may also be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or humans or faecally contaminated environments. In a recent survey in UK, Salmonella was isolated from 30.5% of individual pig caecal contents at slaughter (Powell et al., 2016). Pigs get infected through oral intake of Salmonella and they can carry this bacterium asymptomatically in their tonsils, gut and gut-associated lymphoid tissue for months resulting in so called Salmonella carriers. During periods of stress, re-excretion may occur. In this way, carriers are a permanent potential source of infection for other animals, including humans. Stress