Quantitative assessment of biosecurity in broiler farms using Biocheck.UGent in Central Luzon, Philippines

Abstract

The biosecurity status of 397 broiler farms in Central Luzon, the highest poultry meat–producing region in the Philippines, was assessed using Biocheck.Ugent. This online biosecurity assessment tool quantifies biosecurity level or compliance of surveyed farms. The system generates scores that reflect the current biosecurity status of each farm in terms of the different external and internal biosecurity measures being implemented in each farm. It was initially developed for pigs and broilers but recently is available for layers, swine, and cattle (beef, dairy, and veal). The overall biosecurity score of broiler farms in Central Luzon was 71.2%, with average external and internal biosecurity scores of 68.5 and 77.2%, respectively. Bataan had the highest biosecurity scores (76.5%) compared with the other 6 provinces. This was also true for the external and internal biosecurity scores of the province, with mean scores of 72.1 and 80.1%, respectively. Of the 11 subcategories of external and internal biosecurity that were assessed, purchase of day-old chicks, feeds and water supply, supply of materials, cleaning and disinfection, and materials between compartments had scores higher than the global scores. Low scores were generated from transport of live animals and infrastructure and biological vectors. The mean biosecurity score of farms with traditional/conventional type of housing was 7.8% lower than that with tunnel vent housing. Every year as the farm gets older, there was a corresponding drop of 0.2% in the biosecurity score. Biosecurity measures are in place in broiler farms in the country. However, there were areas with low scores which need to be prioritized to improve and upgrade the farms' biosecurity status. To date, this is the first quantitative assessment of biosecurity in broiler farms in the Philippines. High biosecurity scores may entail greater protection from disease incursion.

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

“…This study aimed to assess the biosecurity implementation level using standardized national checklists in a sample of poultry farms located in one of the most densely populated poultry areas in Italy. Although data collection with questionnaires represents a snapshot of biosecurity implementation and the reliability of farmers’ answers to some questions might be arguable, questionnaires have proven to be a useful tool for assessing biosecurity compliance in poultry farms [ 3 , 6 , 11 , 15 ] and a potential driver for improvement even for the farmers themselves.…”

“…Biosecurity compliance is commonly assessed using questionnaires (or similar tools like checklists) in which the assessor answers a number of questions regarding the implemented biosecurity measures [ 7 , 9 , 10 ]. The final evaluation of both internal and external biosecurity can be either quantitative [ 7 , 11 ] or qualitative [ 9 , 12 ], according to the questionnaires and the national regulations in place. In the event of a negative outcome, different options can be applied, ranging from recommendations to penalties or even training of the farmer and personnel [ 13 ].…”

“…In the event of a negative outcome, different options can be applied, ranging from recommendations to penalties or even training of the farmer and personnel [ 13 ]. In previous publications, questionnaires or checklists proved to be useful tools for collecting data on biosecurity and assessing the compliance of poultry farms in the European Union (EU) [ 3 , 6 , 14 ] and in non-EU countries [ 11 , 12 , 15 , 16 ], highlighting potential deficiencies and opportunities for intervention.…”

Coaching Belgian and Dutch Broiler Farmers Aimed at Antimicrobial Stewardship and Disease Prevention

“…The level of biosecurity was quantified using the Biocheck.UGent™ questionnaire, which is a risk-based scoring system [ 39 ] that has been used in numerous studies [ 21 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. The Dutch version of the questionnaire for broilers was used, containing 79 questions within multiple subcategories, resulting in a farm-specific score for external (all measures taken to prevent the introduction of pathogens to the farm) and internal (all measures taken to prevent the spread of pathogens within the farm) biosecurity.…”

Evaluation of biosecurity practices in a laying hens farm using Biocheck.UGent

“…The Biocheck.UGent scoring system allows us for the first time to quantify biosecurity at the flock level of laying hens, taking into account all relevant aspects of biosecurity. Different livestock farms can easily be compared to each other, and each farm can be tracked over time when the same scoring system is used (Amass et al 2006;Berndtson et al 1996;Boklund et al 2004;Tanquilut et al 2020). If the biosecurity scoring system is used nationwide, the level of biosecurity could be mapped and areas at high risk for disease spread identified.…”