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Biocheck statistics show that, on average, 65% of visitors to Belgian broiler farms wash their hands before entering. Al- though this is not a bad number, hands can typically carry pathogens and it’s an easy enough parameter to control. Bio- check data shows that only 42% of farms have a central hy- giene lock, an area to change clothes, and on farms with mul- tiple housing units, only 61% have a separate hygiene lock per barn, said Dewulf. “Moreover, in the hygiene locks that are present, very often no clear separation is provided between the ‘clean’ and the ‘dirty’ area,” he added. These results appear to be even worse on Belgian layer farms. Herd-specific cloth- ing received a score of 54%, while herd-specific footwear re- ceived a score of 57%. Hand hygiene received a score of 58%.
Farm Health Guardian tracks and records the movement of staff, visitors and vehicles in and out of produc- tion facilities in real time. When an individual in the network ap- proaches the farm, questions are sent directly to their phone.
manual track-and-trace method would have taken 4-5 days to complete, said Nelson. This past summer, Farm Health Guardian identified the point where a disease broke out on a Canadian hog farm in less than ten minutes. The farm in question was locked down within 60 minutes. “So it does save money, it’s proven to work and it’s very fast,” said Nelson.
Mediocre score While an alert system such as Farm Health Guardian offers an excellent solution once an outbreak occurs, producers’ true aim is prevention. In Belgium, University of Ghent researcher, Jeroen Dewulf developed Biocheck, a system that helps pro- ducers around the world improve on-farm biosecurity. After answering a series of questions about on-farm biosecurity, participants receive a score and a report that shows where they can make improvements. In Belgium, on average, farm- ers received a score of 68% under the ‘visitors and farmwork- er’ category. This means that measures have been taken but that there is quite some room for improvement. Dewulf said there are three golden rules for entrance and they apply to everyone entering the facilities: Use herd-specific footwear, herd-specific clothing and wash hands upon entering. The Bi- ocheck results show that 74% of Belgian farms use herd-spe- cific footwear and 65% have disinfection baths at the en- trance to the stalls for footwear. The use of herd-specific clothing, such as coveralls, is implemented in 59% of cases. “It is quite obvious that clothes can carry infectious agents and therefore, it is necessary to change your clothes when enter- ing a stall or barn, or at least put on a coverall,” said Dewulf. “These measures are quite easy to implement.”
36 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 5/6, 2021
Contingency planning Having a contingency plan in place can ease the stress when outbreaks occur. UK-based Livetec Systems offers this service, helping partnering operations develop a management plan that supports farmers if and when an outbreak occurs. They also offer equipment for humane slaughter and training solu- tions. In a recent interview, technical director Julian Sparrey offered these tips for improving on-farm biosecurity during high-risk periods. People are usually the problem, he said. During high-risk periods, producers should limit the number of visitors on-farm. Those who have to visit – egg pick-up and feed delivery trucks, for example – should park well away from the main barn. Farmers, said Sparrey, should provide vis- itors with a portal to change clothing and footwear before walking on-farm. All visitors should be recorded, including part-time staff. Dead bins, he said, should be placed on the perimeter of the farm. Vehicles that pick up dead birds should never enter the farm, especially during an outbreak. If a vehi- cle does enter the farm, producers need to clean up after it, said Sparrey. Having a concrete parking spot near the feed silo is ideal for thorough cleaning. If an outbreak does occur, government inspectors will come to the farm to complete a 40-page questionnaire. This causes a lot of anxiety and usually requires many follow-up calls. The endless phone calls are what keep farmers up at night, said Sparrey. To prepare farmers, Livetec Systems walks them through the document before an incident occurs. That way the paperwork is already prepared for when the inspectors visit the farm. Sparrey advises producers to keep digital re- cords off-farm, preferably outside biosecure areas. In the event of an outbreak, Livetec Systems will act as an interme- diary between the government and the farmer. They manage the proofs of cleaning and re-certification to re-open as well. “We might not be able to the stop the disease but we can re- duce the impact on individual farmers, because it’s devastat- ing,” said Sparrey. “Farmers are not producing birds to be killed on-farm. They don’t like to see this sort of thing hap- pening and anything we can do to prevent it or make the process go a bit more smoothly, then that’s good.”
PHOTO: HOLLY MCFARLANE PHOTOGRAPHY
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