Rural veterinarian's perception and practices in terms of biosecurity across three European countries

Abstract

The implementation of biosecurity measures in the animal health and production context is quite broad and aims at limiting the risk of introduction and spread of diseases. Veterinarians play a major role in biosecurity as key informants on the subject for cattle holders, key players in terms of disease prevention/control and eradication programs, as well as key risk factor in terms of disease dissemination. Many biosecurity studies have highlighted professional visitors such as veterinary practitioners as representing a high-risk factor in terms of disease introduction in animal facilities but, to date, very few studies have focused on the implementation level of biosecurity measures by veterinarians. An online survey was implemented in three European countries (Belgium, France and Spain) to assess the behaviour of rural veterinarians towards biosecurity, as well as their implementation level of the biosecurity measures. A descriptive analysis of data and a scoring system were applied to assess the implementation level of measures. The influence of different factors on the implementation level of biosecurity measures was investigated through a negative binomial regression model. The study identified different strengths, weaknesses, possible constraints and solutions in terms of veterinary perspectives. Veterinarians are considered as key informants by the farmers and could therefore play a more active role in terms of guidance and improvement of biosecurity at farm level. Based on the survey outcomes, two factors seemed to influence significantly the implementation level of measures: the country where he/she practices and the veterinarian's perception level of biosecurity. The biosecurity stages with the lowest application level, therefore representing the biggest threats, were bio-exclusion (increasing the risk of disease introduction) and biocontainment (increasing the risk of inter-herd transmission).

A survey of biosecurity measures applied on dairy cattle farms in Spain

“…A similarly lack of implementation of biosecurity measures has been observed on dairy farms elsewhere in Europe (7,11,20). The implementation of biosecurity plans on dairy farms is voluntary in almost all countries, with the exception of larger dairy farms in Denmark (21).…”

“…The main limitations and strengths of the biosecurity measures applied in dairy cattle farms have been studied recently in several countries (7–10), as a preparatory step to develop greater awareness of the importance of each measure and the factors that might restrict its application. In Spain, despite the economic importance of milk production in some regions, current biosecurity practices on dairy farms have not been studied empirically although a recent study assessed perceptions and practices applied by rural veterinarians (11).…”

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

“…Different studies have identified several psychosocial factors in dairy farmers and veterinarians that might influence their decision on whether or not to implement biosecurity measures. Among these factors, it has been described that the attitude of farmers and veterinarians towards the implementation of biosecurity measures might be affected by the technical knowledge they have (Frössling & Nöremark, ; García & Coelho, ; Toma, Low, Vosough, Matthews, & Stott, ), the individual experiences they have lived (Broughan et al, ), the importance they can attribute to risks (Renault, Humblet, et al, ), and the benefits they can obtain from measures implemented (Ciaravino et al, ). Moreover, their behaviour towards the implementation of biosecurity measures has also been related to their perceived social pressure to apply these measures (i.e.…”

Biosecurity practices in Belgian cattle farming: Level of implementation, constraints and weaknesses

“…If farmers are well aware of the risk and usually prevent vehicle access to animal transit areas, they are unwilling or do not feel comfortable with imposing measures to visitors; they usually rely on their professionalism and tend to believe their boots and clothes are clean. Such belief is a real threat, as several studies demonstrated that most professional visitors do not implement suitably the BSM preventing the spread of infectious diseases (Nöremark & Sternberg‐Lewerin, ; Pritchard, Wapenaar, & Brennan, ; Renault et al., ; Sayers, Good, & Sayers, ; Shortall et al., ). Implementation rates were significantly higher in dairy farms for the use of farm‐dedicated clothes and boots.…”