AgriPortal Website | Bio Security Management

Bio Security Management

Biosecurity is an integrated approach encompassing policy and regulatory frameworks to analyze and manage risks in the areas of animal health and food safety, including associated environmental risk.

Major Routes for Disease and Pathogen Transmission:

Poultry : transfer of birds from production area to other production area and dead bird disposal
Other animals: wild birds, feral and domestic animals, including other livestock and pets, insects, rodents—rats/mice etc., domestic birds
People: farm personnel and family members living on site; contractors, maintenance personnel, neighbors, serviceperson, visitors; disease can be transmitted by, for example, hands, boots, clothing, dirty hair etc.
Equipment: Feeders, waterers, nests, debeakers, vaccinators, sprayers, burners etc.
Vehicles: Feed Trucks, Product and waste collection vehicles
Air : transmission as an aerosol or dust
Water supply: water supplies may become contaminated with faeces from contact with avian or other animal species
Feed: feed may be contaminated by the raw materials used, post-production and during transport, or by exposure to rodents and birds on the property. Bacteria and mould in poor quality or damaged feed may also be a concern.

Checklist for Implementing an Effective Poultry Bio-security Plan:

Secure perimeter; Keep “restricted” signs posted at drive entrances
No trees or dense foliage around sheds, no roosting site for wild birds
Restrict entry to essential personnel and record entry.
Keep poultry houses locked; fasten from inside while inside.
Provide boots and coveralls for staff and visitors for each shed.
Staff should change into dedicated/disposable boots and coveralls upon entering each different shed. Clean footbaths may be appropriate within a shed if changed regularly.
When caring for flocks, the resident flock manager should keep clothing (including shoes, boots, hat and gloves) separate from those worn off the farm.
After caring for the flock, change clothes completely and wash hands and arms before leaving premises.
Flock manager and other caretakers should not visit any other poultry flocks.
If possible, provide show facilities for visitors.
Remove poultry mortality daily. Store or dispose them off by an approved method.
Ensure staff and visitors are aware of the dangers of raising or visiting other avian species and their contact with your flock.
Essential visitors such as owners, meter readers, service personnel, fuel and feed delivery drivers, and poultry catchers and haulers must wear protective outer clothing, including boots and headgear, before being allowed near the flocks.
Monitor vehicles entering premises for poultry pickup or delivery, feed delivery, fuel delivery, etc., to determine if they have been scrubbed down and the undercarriage and tyres spray-disinfected before entering.
Minimize entry of equipment, supplies, etc. and take appropriate precautions such as disinfection, removal from shipping boxes, etc.
Clean and disinfect all coops, crates and other poultry containers or equipment before and after use.
Maintain a strong vector control program for insect, mammalian and avian vectors. Maintain bait stations (bait stations must be numbered and a map kept on their location; bait stations must be placed at regular intervals around the sheds), clean up feed spills, prevent entry by wild animals (rats, birds, insects) or pets (dogs, cats). Use screens in windows, air inlets, doors feed bin exhausts etc.

Farm Location and Design:

Poultry farm maintaining the valuable germplasm should ideally be located at a well isolated site away from other farms. It should be located away from water bodies that can be source of water for wild birds and animals and these wild birds and animals may become source of infection to birds maintained in the farm. Ideally it should be located at least 1-2 km away from other commercial facilities.

The perimeter of the farm and hatchery must be secured with boundary wall and other measures. The production area must have a perimeter fence or otherwise well-defined boundary (e.g. vegetation) establishing a clearly defined biosecurity zone.
The farm should be designed in such a way that it has sufficient ventilation and should have access to sunlight. This will be necessary for reducing the build-up of infectious agents in poultry house apart from reducing the stress of accumulated gases.
Direction of long axis: This depends on geographical location of the farm. If the farm is located in cold region, then the direction of long axis should be North-South. If the farm is located in hot and humid condition, then it should be East-West. If the farm is located in region with very high temperature in summer months, then long axis should be South-East.
Overhanging branches of trees over run-area of poultry like turkey, ducks etc. should strictly be pruned/ removed to avoid falling of droppings of feral birds. Ideally no dense foliage and trees should be there.
Ensure bird-proofing nets in all units to prevent entry of small feral birds into sheds.
Cover any open drains to avoid attraction of wild animals.
There should be no roosting site for wild birds.
There should be proper drainage facility and water should not stagnate. The production area should be adequately drained to prevent accumulation and stagnation of water likely to attract other birds, especially in the areas around sheds and range areas.
Houses should be provided with concrete floor for easy and proper cleaning. Foot dips of uniform size must be provided at the entry of all the poultry sheds and preferably use 50% lime powder + 50% Bleaching powder.
Ideally, layout of the farm should be such that at farm entry point, brooder shed should be followed by shed for growers and lastly for adult birds. Similar pattern should be followed for drainage system also from brooding to adult shed.
Hatchery should be located at least 500 ft. away from other sheds.
From biosecurity point of view, distance between two different sheds of same type should be 30 ft. and of different type should be 00ft.
Roads should be of concrete material so that transport of organisms with shoes and tyres can be reduced.
Facility for post-mortem examination near to the incinerators and separate laboratory with suitable facilities and manpower are also required for regular monitoring and surveillance of diseases at the farm level.
There should be single window system for sale of all poultry and poultry products with sale counter at gate. Client and their vehicle should not be allowed in any case to visit farm or hatchery.

Movement restriction in general at farm level:

As far as possible, separate personnel must be made available to each species of poultry to avoid frequent movement between different species units.
All the farms should be provided with fence to protect the entry of persons, vehicles, animals etc.
Entrance should be forbidden to everyone. The poultry farms can only be entered with the permission of the farm manager or appointed responsible.
Permit the access on the farm only to those people that are necessary on the farm e.g. personnel, veterinary services.
It should be kept in mind that visiting two different farms within 24 hr should be avoided. If necessary, showering in between visits is highly recommended. Similar instructions should be applied to the team of persons who catch and load poultry.
To improve control on the access of the farm, there should only be one entrance and one exit. The road used for such personnel should be cleaned and disinfected daily.
At the entry point of the farm, provide boot and wheel dip baths filled with an effective disinfectant. It should be ensured that the baths are renewed on daily basis.
On clean side, there should be facility to put on clean clothes and boots and after use they should be left out in the changing room, and while exiting, put on the clothes which the individual was wearing before the entry into the changing room.

Movement restriction at poultry shed level:

Keep the shed locked at all times.
Footwear dedicated for that shed, Foot-dips and handwash at entrance of every shed should be provided for. If felt necessary, farms may have higher norms, like having change room and shower facility even at shed level.
It should be ensured that all materials, drugs, vaccines etc., are cleaned and disinfected and they should pass a quarantine storage period of 10 days in specially designed storage room which should be cleaned regularly.
All material used in farm operations should be cleaned and disinfected before and after use.
Every shed should be provided foot dips at entrance and exit and it should be ensured that the dips are renewed on daily basis.
Fogging of the populated sheds should be a part of a prevention programme to minimize the risk of contamination. The disinfectant should be used with right dilution as per manufacture’s direction.

Isolation and quarantine of new birds:

: Isolation and quarantine of new birds is necessary in a separate place and enclosure so that infectious agents which may be there in the newly introduced birds may be detected before introduction of these birds with other flocks.

If the birds have been used for a show or a fair, keep them isolated from rest of the flock for 21 days after the event and observe for signs of any disease.
New birds should be kept separate from old stock for at least 21 days and they should be observed for any disease symptoms and samples (blood, faecal, swabs) should be collected for thorough investigation before mixing to the already existing old stock.
It should be ensured that shed houses birds of same age group, even if farm consists of birds of different age group.
Pest proofing is recommended before restocking

Cleaning and Sanitation:

a) Cleaning and disinfection of farm equipments:

Feeding pans and drinking equipment used in the shed area should be kept clean daily.
Scrubbing should be done and then application of hot water followed by disinfection with an effective disinfectant.
Make sure all equipments that had contact with the poultry, lawn, garden and poultry equipments are washed and disinfected before taken to another place. The same should be followed where some equipment are to be brought into the farm.
Keeping the shed equipments clean prevents pathogens from accumulating and causing health problems. Cages, if there, should be disinfected at regular intervals. They may be left in the sun and then they may be disinfected but it is essential to remove manure before disinfecting cages. Disinfectant will not work if there is still manure present on items.
Newly purchased equipments should be thoroughly washed with soapy water or otherwise should be disinfected before use.
Newly purchased cages should also be subjected to washing with soapy water or should be disinfected.
Poultry equipments such as egg crates, cages, shovels or rakes, should not be shared between family or neighboring farms. Plastic or metal equipment may be preferred over wooden material.
Clean feeder and waterers daily.

b) Cleaning and disinfection of poultry houses:

House cleaning is the most arduous phase of bio-security and it can be divided in two types:

I. Complete or terminal house cleaning:

This is practiced after removal of flock and the following points should be given consideration. After removing the flock, remove the left over feathers, droppings, litter etc. It should be then followed by complete disinfection of the shed.
Firstly, the house should be fumigated and then it should be subjected to an effective disinfection.
Keep the shed empty for a minimum period of 10 days before arrival of new flock.
Before introduction of new flock, it should be ensured that there should be no extra moisture in litter, otherwise chances of fungal growth are more.

II. Partial/concurrent house cleaning:

This type of cleaning is done while the birds remain inside the house.
Thoroughly clean the fans and it should be a regular feature. Sweep the house from top to bottom. Remove the caked litter from the house, or forking with some drying agent. Place the clean litter in the house, or top dressing may be done.
Regularly disinfect the brooder guards, feeders, jugs, drinking water containers using iodophores and 5% sodium hypchlorite. Other chemicals effective like sodium dodecyl sulphate, formalin and iodine compounds can also be used.
Regularly sanitize the drinking water. Drinking water for poultry, as well as cooling water used in poultry sheds, must meet appropriate water standards. Water that does not meet the standard must be treated (e.g. chlorination, iodine) to ensure that the standard is met.
Proportion of disinfectant added must be displayed at the entrance of each shed/ hatchery.

III. Personnel hygiene:

Specific over all clothing for employees must be provided. Wash hands thoroughly before and after entering the farm area. Washing of hands can be done with soap or detergents with contact time of 10 minutes.
Wear clean clothes or coveralls while working with birds in the farm. The clothes should be washable with laundry detergent. Preferably for this purpose detergents or oxidizing agents (sodium hypochlorite dilute to give 2-3% available chlorine @ 2% with contact time of 10 minutes) and alkali (sodium hydroxide 2% solution or sodium carbonate anhydrous 4% solution with 10-30 minutes contact time) can be used, especially at the entrance on foot mats to clean the shoes gumboots and other items.
Dirty clothes should be washed with detergent and hung out to dry in the sun.
Quaternary-ammonium salts can be used for the treatment of walls, floors, ceilings and equipment, Cresolic-acid 2.2% solution or Synthetic phenols 2% solution can be used for the treatment of floors.
Since diseases in poultry can be transmitted easily through boots, therefore, boots should be used after cleaning and disinfection. The best approach would be disinfecting footwear before and after working with birds or keeping a separate pair of shoes to work around birds and changing into other shoes when leaving the premise.
The person should use coveralls, which can be removed and cleaned when leaving the premise. Boots should be washed in chlorinated water or with soapy water. Also scrub boots while entering and exit.
When the care personnel needs to attend to chickens or other poultry (e.g. collecting eggs, feeding or watering, change of bedding or repair of fencing material), a change of clothes/ boots is required.
Medical checkup of all workers coming in contact with livestock and feed should be done.

IV. Hygienic disposal of poultry manure:

Use of poultry manure and other poultry by-products such as feathers in agriculture and aquaculture as fertilizer and in untreated form as food for pigs and fish may serve as source of infection as many viruses may not be deactivated for several weeks inside the organic matter such as faeces.
Poultry manure should be left undisturbed for at least 90 days and then can be used as fertilizer. High risk farming practices such as use of contaminated water and recycling of poultry waste without treatment should be stopped.
Effluent generated from poultry processing of manure can also be disposed off after treatment with acids such as hypochloric acid 2% or citric acid 0.2% or with alkali treatment such as Sod. Hydroxide 2% or sodium carbonate anhydrous 4%.

V. Disposal of dead birds and other bio/ biomedical wastes:

Dead birds should be removed quickly and properly, to ensure no contact with other birds which will be helpful in removing the source of infected foci to poultry as well as to handlers. The best way to dispose off dead birds is by rendering, burial or incineration. Other wastes generated are: Litter waste – Shed cleanout with poultry manure and bedding materials, hatchery waste, Biomass wastes like fallen tree leaves, twigs etc.,

Biomedical wastes like syringe, needle, swabs, empty vials and other used chemical containers. Incineration, rendering, boiling, fermentation, composting, enzyme or sodium hydroxide treatment, autoclaving are some of the methods of destruction which may be followed. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998 under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 should be referred for appropriate disposal of some biomedical wastes.