Current situation assessment of biosecurity measures of some poultry sectors and hatcheries in Egypt

Abstract

Preventing the transmission of disease into and between poultry farms, hatcheries, and from wildlife, or their droppings, is essential to maintain healthy productive poultry flocks. This study was designed to assess the current situation of biosecurity measures in 3 types of poultry operations; 125 small-scale commercial broiler farms (sector III), hobby poultry premises (backyards; sector IV) and hatcheries selected from Giza, Fayoum and Beni-Suef province, Egypt. A structured questionnaire survey, interviews and observation were used to collect data on farm characterization, bio-security practices and disease preventive measures in sectors and hatcheries. The respondents were farm owners, farm managers, veterinarians, and workers. It has been found that the distance between small commercial broiler farms were 48.4% [2-5 km] while for hobby poultry keepers 66.5% [≤100 m], and hatcheries 41.6% [1-3 km] and 30.6% [7-11 km]. In small-scale broiler farms practiced all in/ all out system (89 %) as compared to hatcheries and backyards (83.3 and 46.1 %, respectively). In the most of the small commercial broiler farms, the resting period between production cycles was higher on 4-7 days (32.5%). Methods most used for disposal of daily mortalities were on landfill (45.2%) among small commercial broiler farms. Meanwhile, hobby poultry premises and hatcheries included disposal in water canals (38.5 and 33.3%, respectively). On the other hand, Hobby poultry keepers reported that veterinarians rarely inspected their premises. Mortality rate/cycle was (11.9%) in almost broiler farms. About 64.3 % of the small commercial producers practiced all the recommended vaccination of their birds against highly pathogenic diseases. In conclusion, the majority of the small-scale broiler farms and all most backyards were far from the implementation of biosecurity measures. Biosecurity situation needs a combined effort from stakeholders, poultry keeper of hobby birds (backyard) to improve biosecurity level for those sectors.

Assessment of Biosecurity Status in Commercial Chicken Farms Found in Bishoftu Town, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

“…Many poultry farms at Bishoftu were prohibiting visitor's entry. This finding was in line with the study conducted in Egypt by Mohammed and Helal [ 36 ] who found 28.6% of small commercial poultry producers allowed visitors to enter poultry shades. But this finding disagrees with the finding of Birhanu et al [ 31 ] who reported 76% of farms allowed visitors entry.…”

A cross-sectional survey for the assessment of biosecurity measures in small-scale duck farms in Qalyoubia, Egypt: Comprehensive evaluation and procedural recommendations

“…Water sanitation plays an important role in reducing disease transmission through farms [3]. Consistently, a deficiency in water sanitation was reported in farms of other species in Egypt [28] and Sudan [29].…”

“…Therefore, our study focused on this type of breeding due to its economic impact and lack of available data. This study assessed the current situation and the implementation of biosecurity studies [1,28]. We found that there was a shortage in the implementation of some key biosecurity measures.…”

“…Therefore, our study focused on this type of breeding due to its economic impact and lack of available data. This study assessed the current situation and the implementation of biosecurity measures in 20 small-scale commercial duck farms of different breeds (Supplementary data), based on a purpose-designed questionnaire that encloses 30 points of biosecurity measures recommended in other studies [ 1 , 28 ]. We found that there was a shortage in the implementation of some key biosecurity measures.…”

Investigating the Biosecurity Measures’ Applications in Poultry Farms and Its Relationship With the Occurence of Avian Influenza

“…The wire net of poultry breeding barn windows was fit and secured in 82% (201/244) of the farms at the first visit, which increased significantly to 91% (223/244) in the second visit. Mohammed and Helal (20) reported that the secured wire netting on windows help to protect the sheds from predators and pest birds.…”