ABSTRACT
Due to technological advances and professional commitment, the Brazilian poultry industry has become the main exporter and second major producer of chicken meat in the world. These methods involve the issue of environmental contamination by pathogenic microorganisms which can result in productive losses for the poultry industry as a whole. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the microbiological conditions of a hatching house in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The technique of plate sedimentation was the methodology used, with two culture mediums for growing specific bacteria and fungi. Thirty monitorings were carried out, with two different culture mediums, Mac Conkey Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar. It was observed that the indices of fungus and bacterial contamination were not elevated in the places where the plates had been exposed, except in the vaccination machine where the number of enterobacteria was 52.7 colony forming units (CFU). The results indicate that the method of counting of fungal and bacterial colonies can be a simple way to monitor the sanitary efficiency of the hatching house.
KEY WORDS
Bacteria; fungus; hatching house; sedimentation plates