The U.S. poultry industry faces a severe avian flu outbreak that has resulted in the culling of over 166 million birds since 2022 and driven egg prices to unprecedented levels. This situation underscores the urgent need for innovative biosecurity strategies beyond current reactive measures. Current USDA biosecurity efforts, which have allocated $500 million, primarily focus on reactive measures such as culling infected flocks and using short-term chemical disinfectants. Synbio Concept argues these approaches provide only temporary relief and fail to address the root causes of disease transmission across farm environments.
Synbio Concept proposes a revolutionary 4-Layer Defense System that leverages microbiome science to prevent disease spread across multiple farm vectors. This comprehensive approach targets air quality, water systems, gut health, and waste management through probiotic and synbiotic technologies. Key components include synbiotic fogging to reduce airborne pathogens, probiotic water treatments to improve hydration and break down biofilms, and microbial stabilizers that lower cross-contamination risks in manure and waste management. The company's leadership emphasizes the need for a proactive approach to biosecurity, focusing on building microbial resilience rather than merely responding to outbreaks.
The company is calling on the USDA to implement a 6-12 month pilot program that would integrate microbiome-based cleaning protocols across 100-500 farms. This federally backed initiative would not only provide critical data but also offer cost-sharing to encourage widespread adoption of these innovative biosecurity techniques. As detailed in their proposal, this approach could potentially transform poultry farm management practices by addressing transmission vectors that current methods overlook. The ongoing challenges from recurring avian flu outbreaks highlight the limitations of existing strategies and the potential significance of this microbiome-based alternative for long-term industry sustainability.
