Assessing Biosecurity Compliance in Poultry Farms: A Survey in a Densely Populated Poultry Area in North East Italy

Giuditta Tilli, Andrea Laconi, Francesco Galuppo, Lapo Mughini-Gras, Alessandra Piccirillo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Biosecurity in poultry farms represents the first line of defense against the entry and spread of pathogens that may have animal health, food safety, and economic consequences. The aim of this study was to assess biosecurity compliance in poultry farms located in a densely populated poultry area in North East Italy. A total of 259 poultry farms (i.e., broilers, turkeys, and layers) were surveyed between 2018 and 2019 using standardized checklists, and differences in biosecurity compliance between the poultry sectors and years (only for turkey farms) were tested for significance. Among the three sectors, turkey farms showed the highest compliance. Farm hygiene, infrastructure condition, cleaning and disinfection tools, and procedures were the biosecurity measures most complied with. Some deficiencies were observed in the cleanliness of the farm hygiene lock in broiler farms, as well as the presence of the house hygiene lock in broiler and layer farms and an adequate coverage of built-up litter in turkey and broiler farms. In conclusion, this study highlighted a generally high level of biosecurity in the visited poultry farms (probably due to the stringent national regulation and the integration of the poultry industry) and identified some measures that still need to be improved.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1409
Number of pages9
JournalAnimals
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: This study was carried out under the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project “NetPoulSafe” under grant agreement No. 101000728.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • biosecurity checklist
  • biosecurity compliance
  • broilers
  • layers
  • turkeys

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