The continuous threats of infectious diseases severely affecting poultry, such as Newcastle Disease Virus or Hyper Virulent Gumboro Disease, and in some cases diseases that might also affect humans, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Salmonella, present the most significant economic threat to the commercial poultry 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.
Numerous studies repeatedly confirm that biosecurity is the cheapest, most effective means of disease prevention and control. The studies demonstrate how a relatively small investment in the improvement of housing and equipment combined with the development of a farm’s biosecurity procedures (farm biosecurity plan) and farm’s staff education can yield better results, specifically: healthier birds and more profitable farm production. This was in comparison to the high costs of disease outbreak associated with bird mortality and low performance due to slow growth rate, drop in egg production and hatchability, high feed conversion rate (FCR), increased carcasses condemnations, medication and decontamination.
A biosecurity plan should therefore be a part of any poultry production system. The biosecurity plan should be consisted 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.
Next chapter: What is Biosecurity?
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