The poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, is one of the most important external parasites in the poultry industry. PRM adheres to birds’ bodies, and its hematophagy causes anemia and itching, and reducing egg production (~20%). Fipronil is a toxic pesticide used to control PRM. Thus, an environmentally friendly alternative control agent is needed. In this study, the effectiveness of various environmentally friendly PRM control measures including an acaricide consisting of synthetic silica, clove extracts, garlic extracts, and a probiotic solution were evaluated, comparing them to a combined treatment using the chemical acaricides. Each agent was tested in vitro using two approaches, in which PRMs were either added to environments containing acaricide, or sprayed in situ. Within 10 hours of inoculation, all the environmentally friendly acaricides except for the probiotic solution killed or rendered immotile significantly more mites than the control, normal saline (p < 0.05). The performance of the environmentally friendly acaricides, except for synthetic silica, was significantly weaker than that of commercial chemical acaricides. (p < 0.05). Further tests to determine the optimal concentration of amorphous synthetic silica agent for complete PRM control found this to be 400 g/L. PRM motility following treatment showed the same pattern: the synthetic silica agent and chemical acaricide killed mites, while application of other environmentally friendly agents resulted in living, but immotile, insects, or those with reduced motility. As a result, these environmentally friendly acaricides, especially the synthetic silica agent, could be used as alternatives to chemical acaricides for PRM control.

Herein, we compared the epidemiological aspects of pathogenic microbial foodborne disease (FBD) outbreaks in Korea and Japan from 2011 to 2015. In Korea, the cumulative incidence rate (CIR) of FBD was 12.6 per 100,000 individuals, and the patients per outbreak (P/O) was 22.1 for the period from 2011 to 2015. During the same period in Japan, the CIR was 17.4, and the P/O was 21.1. In Korea, outbreaks of FBDs were more common in summer, whereas those in Japan were more frequent in winter. In Korea, microbial agents accounted for 55.6% of all outbreaks, whereas that in Japan was 77.1% of all outbreaks. Moreover, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium spp., pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were more common in Korea than in Japan. In summary, FBD outbreaks showed characteristic differences between Korea and Japan, reflecting differences in culture, food habits, climate, and geography between the two countries.