Low-frequency electromagnetic fields as an alternative to sanitize water of drinking systems in poultry production?

PloS one · 2019 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 5576

Study snapshot

PublicationPloS one · 2019

Study typeother

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Low-frequency electromagnetic fields (LF-EMF) may present an alternative to conventional sanitation methods of water supply lines in animal production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of LF-EMF on bacterial concentrations and biofilms at scale-models of different drinking systems (circulating and non-circulating) conventionally used in poultry holdings. Treated systems were equipped with commercial devices producing pulsed electromagnetic signals of low frequency up to 10,000 Hz; max. 21 mT. Exposure of water to LF-EMF resulted in changes of the culturable bacterial counts, although with high standard deviations. Differing between systems types, LF-EMF treatment seemed to be responsible either for a limitation or for an increase of colony forming unit counts, with partly statistically significant differences, especially in early stages of treatment. In contrast, neither biofilm formation nor counts of cells suspended in water differed between treated and control lines over 28 days of experiment, as determined by fluorescence microscopy. Although this study indicates that LF-EMF may influence culturability of water microorganisms, no clear inhibitory effects on bacterial biofilm formation or on planktonic microbes by LF-EMF treatment were confirmed in the experiments.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionmixed

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureELF · 28 days

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In scale-model poultry drinking systems, exposure of water to pulsed low-frequency EMF (up to 10,000 Hz; max 21 mT) was associated with changes in culturable bacterial counts with high variability; depending on system type, CFU counts were sometimes limited or increased, with some statistically significant differences early in treatment. Over 28 days, biofilm formation and microscopy-based counts of suspended cells did not differ between treated and control lines.

Outcomes measured

Culturable bacterial counts (colony forming units)
Biofilm formation (fluorescence microscopy)
Counts of cells suspended in water (fluorescence microscopy)

Limitations

High standard deviations/variability in culturable bacterial counts
Effects differed by drinking system type (circulating vs non-circulating)
No clear inhibitory effects on biofilm formation or planktonic microbes were confirmed over 28 days

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "drinking water system sanitation device (poultry drinking lines)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "28 days"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Culturable bacterial counts (colony forming units)",
    "Biofilm formation (fluorescence microscopy)",
    "Counts of cells suspended in water (fluorescence microscopy)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In scale-model poultry drinking systems, exposure of water to pulsed low-frequency EMF (up to 10,000 Hz; max 21 mT) was associated with changes in culturable bacterial counts with high variability; depending on system type, CFU counts were sometimes limited or increased, with some statistically significant differences early in treatment. Over 28 days, biofilm formation and microscopy-based counts of suspended cells did not differ between treated and control lines.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "High standard deviations/variability in culturable bacterial counts",
    "Effects differed by drinking system type (circulating vs non-circulating)",
    "No clear inhibitory effects on biofilm formation or planktonic microbes were confirmed over 28 days"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "low-frequency electromagnetic fields",
    "LF-EMF",
    "pulsed electromagnetic signals",
    "10,000 Hz",
    "21 mT",
    "water sanitation",
    "poultry production",
    "drinking systems",
    "bacterial counts",
    "colony forming units",
    "biofilm",
    "fluorescence microscopy"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "engineering",
      "weight": 0.6,
      "reason": "Evaluates a commercial LF-EMF device as an alternative sanitation method for drinking water lines."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220302
PubMed: 31344112

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