Biosecurity is a focused program to protect livestock from diseases, including how to control microorganism transmission into and across the farm from external and internal sources.
A high level of biosecurity in farms is essential to avoid outbreaks. Good farm biosecurity can improve overall flock health, cut the cost of disease treatment, reduce losses and improve farm profitability.
The human aspect of biosecurity needs to include business owners, farm management and staff, visitors, and quality control. Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail to see how they affect the success of biosecurity programs and understand the importance of the human role.
Business Owners
Business owners look for maximum profit from their farms and their investment in these projects. But sometimes farm management and the quality control team find it difficult to convince owners to invest in keeping biosecurity standards high, not just during outbreaks but throughout the year. Some owners believe the cost of biosecurity will not be reflected directly in production and consider it as an additional cost. In reality, high biosecurity standards and programs are actually crucial to the profitability of the farm.
Farm Management
Farm management must understand the objectives of applying strong biosecurity programs. These include preventing contamination from the environment and between flocks. It is also very important to ensure that farm staff comply with the biosecurity system through training, motivation and frequent auditing, which all lead to maximizing yield and profitability.
Farm Staff
Farm staff must understand the need for strong biosecurity programs in order for them to work efficiently and by applying high biosecurity standards as part of their daily routine. This will help farm profitability by achieving yield targets, thereby increasing their income. Ongoing refresher training is important for farm staff to keep them alert and updated on new procedures. Farm staff should receive regular training (both theoretical and practical) on cleaning and disinfection procedures, basic personal hygiene and basic microbiology. It is recommended to repeat the training every 6-12 months.
Quality Control
The quality control team have a vital role in biosecurity and should have authority for restocking the house or repeating a part or all of the cleaning procedures. They must have full support from farm management in order to reach a high level of biosecurity. The QC team must follow SOPs (standard operating procedures) for all steps of the biosecurity program to apply the microbiological assessment and effectiveness of the cleaning and disinfection procedures.
Visitors
Some people may consider biosecurity tedious due to the high standards and protocols required, including the many steps needed to ensure good biosecurity. Visitors must respect biosecurity procedures in the farm and apply them without question. To avoid cross-contamination from external sources, farm management must ensure that entrances to the farm for visitors and vehicles are subject to strict biosecurity protocols.
We can now see just how important the human role is to the success of any biosecurity program. It is also the most cost-effective method of disease control.
Prevention is better than cure.
For more information about biosecurity programs please visit Reza City at our website www.rezahygiene.com