Issue No.35 / March 2011

Farm Biosecurity for

Better Performance and Higher Profit

Dr. Yonatan (Yoni) SEGAL, DVM ~ Poultry Veterinarian ~ Melbourne, Australia**FAO, Global Biosecurity Consultant

Over the last few decades the poultry industry – supported by technological advances in genetic selection, feed quality, growing methods, processing and marketing – has outstripped all other agricultural commodities in both, developed and developing countries. This is mainly due to poultry being the most efficient protein-producing (meat and eggs) domestic species with the lowest feed conversion ratio.

Recently, the commercial poultry sector has encountered considerable and multiple challenges. Concerns about environmental pollution, shortage of water, the rising cost of feed and increasing demand for higher welfare standards are all putting pressure on the poultry industry. However the continuous threats of infectious diseases severely affecting poultry, including Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), Hyper Virulent Gumboro Disease (IBDV) or Mycoplasma, and in some cases diseases that affect humans, such as H5N1 Avian Influenza (HPAI), Campylobacter or Salmonella, pose a significant economic threat to the industry.

Preventing and controlling the incursion of such diseases into poultry farms or the spread of diseases between farms requires the implementation of measures, such as biosecurity, vaccination and preventative medication. Importantly, it should be noted that prevention of diseases is always cheaper than treating or suffering the effects of an outbreak.

Biosecurity is defined as a set of practices designed to prevent the entry and spread of infectious diseases into and from a poultry farm.

Numerous studies conducted in the USA during the 1980s and 1990s repeatedly confirmed that biosecurity is the most economical and effective method of disease prevention and control. The studies demonstrated how a relatively small investment in the improvement of housing and equipment, and the development of a farm’s biosecurity procedures in conjunction with staff education and trainings, can yield better results, specifically: healthier birds and a more profitable farm. In comparison, there were high costs associated with disease outbreaks due to bird mortality and low performance. Low performance is characterised by slow growth, a drop in egg production and hatchability, high Feed Conversion Rate (FCR henceforth)¹, medication and a need for farm cleaning and disinfection.

A biosecurity plan should therefore be a part of any poultry production system. The plan consists of a set of practices and measures taken to form physical and conceptual barriers that prevent or control the introduction and spread of infectious agents to a flock by keeping potentially infected animals and objects away from healthy birds.

1 FCR is a measure of an animal’s efficiency in converting feed mass into increased body mass or the production of egg mass.

Low values indicate a highly efficient animal.

Biosecurity requires the adoption of a set of attitudes and behaviors by people, to reduce risk in activities involving poultry production and marketing. That said, it must be clear that even a comprehensive biosecurity plan cannot completely eliminate the possibility of disease, but it can significantly reduce the probability of disease entering a farm. One should remember that it is often not possible to demonstrate direct benefits from a biosecurity plan from just one growth cycle. Improved health, production and profitability usually occur gradually over several growth cycles.

A biosecurity plan should be comprehensive and include detailed components that are practical and easily understood by farm staff; complicated biosecurity plans, which are difficult to implement, will fail. An effective plan is achievable if it is farm-specific, as there is no standard formula applicable to all poultry commercial farms; each farm has its own unique conditions which require specialized solutions. All of the farm’s staff members should take part in the development and implementation of the biosecurity plan. This assures a full understanding, involvement and commitment for the success of the plan.

Consistency in following biosecurity rules as well as the on going evaluation of the efficacy of the plan throughout the year is very important. The plan should be dynamic, ever evolving, with the ability to fit into the changing situation in the field. One must keep in mind that any change in protocols and procedures must always be assessed for the risk of the introduction of pathogens.

THE THREE ELEMENTS OF BIOSECURITY

A biosecurity plan must be part of a farm’s good management practices. This would include: the provision of high quality feed and water, adequate temperature and ventilation, sufficient floor space, as well as feeder and drinker space for every bird. These are all are factors that can have an impact on the birds’ immunity, affecting their ability to resist disease if exposure occurs.

Maintaining a regular flock record provides essential information and understanding regarding flock health and development status. This information enables one to gauge performance in comparison to previous production cycles or current cycles on other farm sites. It is important to keep records of the source and number of birds being placed on the farm, the daily mortality and culls, the daily feed and water consumption, and any vaccinations, medications or vitamins that are being administered.

Dirty area : The environment surrounding the farm, where disease agents circulate.

Buffer area : The conceptual area where disease entry and spread preventionpractices are implemented

Clean area : The farm area after a farm depopulation, cleaning and disinfection.

Over the last few decades the poultry industry – supported by technological advances in genetic selection, feed quality, growing methods, processing and marketing – has outstripped all other agricultural commodities in both, developed and developing countries. This is mainly due to poultry being the most efficient protein-producing (meat and eggs) domestic species with the lowest feed conversion ratio.

Any biosecurity plan regardless of farm size or production type should contain these three essential elements of biosecurity:

• Segregation & Traffic Control

• Cleaning

• Disinfection

Segregation and Traffic Controls are the strongest and most effective forms of biosecurity able to prevent disease

entrance risks. Segregation and traffic control prevents disease agents from entering the farm by keeping potentially infected animals and contaminated objects such as clothing, footwear, vehicles and equipment away from healthy poultry. This requires the creation of barriers; nothing crosses these barriers unless absolutely necessary.

The barriers can be:

Physical : e.g. locks on doors, fences, gates, warning signs and wide distances between farms, screened walls and windows;

Temporal : e.g. a set recess time between farm visits, and

Procedural : e.g. controlling who enters the farm, washing hands and feet, changing footwear and outer clothes, usage of footbaths for washing and disinfection of shoes and boots, washing and disinfection of any equipment brought into the farm, vehicles kept off the farm, separation by age group.

Cleaning of housing, vehicles and equipment is the next most effective step. Cleaning removes up to 80% of

contaminants. When all dirt is removed, there is little organic material left in which disease agents may be protected and carried. In practice, cleaning means that the surfaces of the walls and equipment must be cleaned to the extent where no dirt, dust or cobwebs are visible to the eye. Proper cleaning requires scrubbing, brushing and high pressure washing with detergent and water.

Cleaning should take place prior to farm entry. This is to be monitored by the farm manager who should ensure that the workers’ and visitors’ hands, feet, clothes and footwear, as well as vehicles, equipment and instruments such as syringes, de-beakers, and egg trays, are clean.

Similarly, at the farm one should ensure regular cleaning of workers’ hands between chores, their clothes and footwear, of equipment used on the farm such as: drinkers, feed pans and egg trays.

Between production cycles, one should ensure cleaning of the poultry house internally and externally and of all pieces of equipment used on the farm.

Disinfection is the least reliable element of biosecurity and depends on many factors, in particularly on the quality of

cleaning and water hardness. To achieve effective disinfection the removal of all dirt during the cleaning process is crucial. Only disinfectants approved by national or international regulatory bodies should be used. The preparation of the disinfectant solution should be done according to manufacturer recommendations, in the correct concentration and the application at the correct volume to ensure effective contact time and to cover the entire surface of the farm to ensure the destruction of any remaining disease agent.

It is important to remember that most disinfectants are highly toxic to workers and poultry, therefore the preparation and application must be done in a safe manner taking all the required precautions.

What should be disinfected and when?

All vehicles and equipment in use should be disinfected prior to entering the farm. Likewise the inside and outside of the poultry house, and of all the equipment used on the farm during the previous production cycle should be disinfected between cycles.

What does one need to know before developing a biosecurity plan?

Before developing the plan it is necessary to investigate which diseases are present in the farm’s area. This can be gleaned from historical data, from past experience at the farm, or updated information that can be obtained from neighbouring farms, or most reliably from the veterinarian or local veterinary services.

It is important to understand how various disease agents can infect chickens; this is known as the mode of transmission. Chickens can get infected through direct or indirect transmissions. Direct transmission is a direct contact between animals. Examples of this are: one infected chicken to another chicken, duck to chicken, cattle/goat/pig to chicken, rat/mouse to chicken, wild bird to chicken, dog/cat to chicken, or flies/mites/beetles to chicken. Under indirect transmission infections occur through carriers, otherwise known as vectors. Examples of this type of contamination are: droppings, nasal discharge, blood and feathers of clothes and footwear, vehicle wheels, farm equipment, feed or the bags in which the feed is kept, water, air, or litter material.

Awareness of how diseases may enter a farm is vital. Potential entry points of disease agents should be identified and their risk level quantified. This assessment process should be repeated for different diseases present in the farm’s area. For example: if NDV is an issue, one would assess what is the level of risk of transmission presented by drinking water.

If a flock consumes water from a deep well, the risk of infection is very low, but if they drink untreated, surface water from a dam or pond, the risk of infection rises due to potential contamination with faecal material of wild birds that carry the virus. Similar assessments should be performed for: feed, litter, hatchery, stock from another source (for example introducing young males from another farm into an older breeding flock, a practice known as spiking), vehicles, housing, workers and visitors, equipment, rodents, insects and wild birds.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BIOSECURITY PLAN

At this point one can start working on the development and implementation of the biosecurity plan. This process requires the following steps:

• Defining the objectives

• Risk Assessment

• Establishing biosecurity Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs)

• Staff training

• Monitoring the effectiveness of the biosecurity plan (audit)

Define the Objectives

The farm’s manager or owner must decide what they would like to achieve on their farm. They should be specific, for example they might decide to maintain the farm free from Avian Influenza (HPAI), Newcastle Disease (NDV), and Gumboro Disease (IBDV). Defining the objectives provides direction and focus to where efforts should be directed. It is important to understand that the prevention or control of all poultry diseases may not be practical from a cost benefit point of view.

This process of defining objectives requires regular updates. These objectives can be adjusted at short notice in response to any emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases in the area surrounding a farm.

Risk Assessment

A farms’ risk assessment determines the conditions that may increase the risk of disease entering the premise,quantifying and prioritizing the risk level of each element.

The risk assessment is best performed while walking around the farm, while performing a thorough inspection, by following the elements in a provided check list that is used as a guide to identify the main biosecurity risks at the farm (Annex A provides a sample checklist). All the farm’s employees should be encouraged to perform the risk assessment,and to generate their own list in order to compare and discuss relevant issues.

Once risks are identified one should quantify and prioritize the risks present on the farm, it will be self-evident where attention and financial resources should be directed. A printout of the “Top 10” list should be posted on the wall at the farm’s entry or lunch-room as a reminder.

The quantification of risk or the risk level is calculated as risk likelihood (frequency) multiplied by the risk impact (damages).

Possible damages in poultry farms due to:

• Birds’ mortality

• Drop in egg production

• Poor hatchability

• Slow growth rate

• Poor feed conversion ratio (FCR)

• Increased carcase condemnations

Establishing Biosecurity Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs)

The standard operation procedures (SOPs) should be farm specific, and should include detailed information and a written protocol for each biosecurity risk identified at the farm.

Important information would include: who is responsible for the implementation of the specific element; how it will be implemented, described in a step by step manner; where and when it will be implemented. The farm’s staff members are an integral part of this document that should be developed together by a team of farm workers and the farm manager or owner. The SOPs should have sufficient details required for future training of new staff.

Staff Training

All of the farm’s workers should have biosecurity training and refreshment sessions at least once a year and all new staff should be trained as part of their induction. The developed farm’s SOPs should be used as a base for this training. It must be remembered that a full understanding and involvement of all personnel working on the farm is critical for the success of the biosecurity plan.

Monitoring the Effectiveness of the Biosecurity Plan (Audit)

In order to ensure that biosecurity procedures are fully developed – to cover all risk areas – and maintained on farm, poultry companies should have a planned audit system in place, including specified frequency of audits and directions on how corrective actions are to be executed.

The objectives of the plan require regular review by the farm manager and/or owner, as the situation in the field is dynamic and new diseases can emerge or re-emerge.

Each element of the SOPs should undergo regular internal review by the farm team in accordance to the schedule stated in the document. Adjustments should be made when necessary to ensure best outcomes. Independent, external audits may be undertaken, as considered appropriate to maintain the robustness of the system, especially in breeding farms.

IN SUMMARY

The fight against various disease agents that affect poultry health and farm profitability is an on-going effort and biosecurity measures must be the first line of defence in this battle. A comprehensive biosecurity plan that is properly implemented will not eliminate the possibility of disease entering the farm but will significantly reduce its probability. When a disease is detected on the farm, this usually indicates that there has been a breakdown of the biosecurityimplementation. As the poultry industry continues to develop and become more competitive, it is clear that a robust biosecurity plan is essential for any poultry farm or poultry companies.

The References are Available Upon Request from the Author

1. National Farm Biosecurity Manual, Poultry Production, Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, First Edition, May 2009, ISBN 978-1-921575-01-3

2. Shulaw, William P. and Bowman, Gary L. Disinfection in On-Farm Biosecurity Procedures. Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, 2001.

3. Joan S. Jeffrey Extension Poultry Veterinarian University of California, Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research. Sanitation-Disinfection Basics, March 1997.

4. Hugh Millar, Attwood, Biosecurity Guidelines for Poultry Producers, June 2006

5. The National Avian On-Farm Biosecurity Standard, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Office of Animal Biosecurity, March 2009.

6. F. William Pierson, MS, DVM, Ph.D. Diplomat A.C.P.V. Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Biosecurity: Principles and Practices in the Commercial Poultry Industry.

7. Stan Bailey, Nelson Cox, and Norman Stern USDA, ARS, Russell Research Centre, Athens, Georgia. Risk management factors associated with implementation of HACCP in the poultry industry.

8. Gary Butcher, College of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida and Mojtaba Yegani, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Biosecurity for the Poultry Industry.

9. Biosecurity for highly pathogenic avian influenza. FAO Animal production and health, paper 165 ISBN 978-92-5-106074-2

10. Paul McMullin MVB DPMP MRCVS, British Veterinary Poultry Association, Practical Illustrations of risk assessment and risk management in the Poultry Industry.

11. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, DVM, MSc, PhD, Poultry Health Management Group, Department of Food Animal and Equine Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University and Donna K. Carver, Department of Poultry Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University. Biosecurity: Perception Is Not Reality.

Annex A: Sample Checklist for Risk Assessment