162 Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production_ A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness feasibility and return (Research paper – Postma, 2015)

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162 Research paper – Postma – 2015 – Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production_ A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness feasibility and return

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Nineteen alternatives to antimicrobial agents were ranked on perceived effectiveness, feasibility and return on investment (ROI) by 111 pig experts from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The top 5 measures in terms of effectiveness were (1) improved internal biosecurity, (2) improved external biosecurity, (3) improved climate/environmental conditions,(4) high health/Specific Pathogen Free/disease eradication and (5) increased vaccination. The top 5 measures in terms of feasibility were (1) increased vaccination, (2) increased use of anti-inflammatory products, (3) improved water quality, (4) feed quality/optimization and (5) use of zinc/metals. The top 5 measures in terms of ROI were (1) improved internal biosecurity, (2) zinc/metals, (3) diagnostics/action plan,(4) feed quality/optimization and (5) climate/environmental improvements. Combining these results, the most promising alternatives to antimicrobial use in industrial pig production are: biosecurity improvements, increased vaccination, use of zinc/metals, improvement of feed quality and use of regular diagnostics testing and having a clear action plan.

Where to find the original material:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25650306; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.01.010

Country: BE; FR; DE; SE, CH, DK

160 Relationship between biosecurity and production antimicrobial treatment characteristics in pig herds (Research paper – Laanen, 2013)

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160 Research paper – Laanen – 2013 – Relationship between biosecurity and productionantimicrobial treatment characteristics in pig herds

Biosecurity
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
The biosecurity status of 95 breeder–finisher pig herds was quantified using the Biocheck.ugent scoring system. Data relating to herd-, farmer- and production-characteristics and to the preventive use of antimicrobials were also collected. The average external biosecurity score (measures to prevent pathogens from entering a herd) was 65 (range, 45–89) and the average internal score (measures to reduce the within-herd spread of pathogens) was 52 (range, 18–87). Scores indicated that biosecurity is generally better implemented in larger herds, in more modern facilities and by younger farmers. External and internal biosecurity scores were positively associated with daily weight gain and negatively associated with feed conversion ratio of fattening pigs. Internal scores were negatively associated with disease treatment incidence, suggesting that improved biosecurity may help reduce preventive use of antimicrobials. This study demonstrates and quantifies a clear link between biosecurity and both production- and antimicrobial treatment-related criteria in pig herds.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24268483; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.08.029
Country: BE

159 Pig cattle and poultry farmers with a known interest in research have comparable perspectives on disease prevention and on-farm biosecurity (Research paper – Laanen, 2014)

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159 Research paper – Laanen – 2014 – Pig cattle and poultry farmers with a known interest in research have comparable perspectives on disease prevention and on-farm biosecurity

Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs; Poultry; Dairy; Beef;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Understanding farmer’s perception is crucial for implementing disease prevention measures. To study this, an online questionnaire was given to 218 pig, 279 cattle and 61 poultry farmers in Flanders, Belgium. The term ‘biosecurity’ was correctly explained by less than 10% of these farmers. In general, all farmers had similar knowledge on disease prevention and biosecurity. There were differences in what farmers found more important: cattle farmers favored animal welfare, and pig farmers, on the other hand, favored the stability of the farm. Insufficient motivation was the most likely reason for poor implementation of biosecurity measures. Across the species, farmers indicate that insufficient information on costs and benefit is the biggest problem in application of preventive measures. The veterinarian is seen as the main source of information concerning disease prevention and biosecurity. With more explanation by the herd veterinarian increases being a major factor in farmer’s interest in disease prevention.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24703250; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.03.015
Country: BE

153 Biosecurity Measures to Control Salmonella and Other Infectious Agents in Pig Farms – A Review (Research paper – Andres, 2015)

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153 Research paper – Andres – 2015 – Biosecurity Measures to Control Salmonella and Other Infectious Agents in Pig Farms_ A Review

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Summary:
Salmonellosis is the 2nd most common cause of human bacterial food poisoning and can be acquired from eating both contaminated meat or eggs, either via direct consumption of the contaminated product or by cross-contamination with other food while preparing meals in the kitchen. Pork is considered, after eggs, the major source of infection in humans in the EU, mainly the S. typhymurium species. Good control measures at the farm level are likely to correspond with lower prevalence of infection and, subsequently, a reduction of cross-contamination of carcasses processed at the slaughterhouse. This review focuses on biosecurity measures in pig farms that can help to control important pig diseases at the same time as reducing the within-herd prevalence of Salmonella. This information is likely to provide an economic incentive for farmers to apply improved general standards of farm biosecurity and hygiene management that would have a positive impact in food safety.

Where to find the original material: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277725160_Biosecurity_Measures_to_Control_Salmonella_and_Other_Infectious_Agents_in_Pig_Farms_A_Review; https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12137

Country: UK

150 Biocheck Ugent – A quantitative tool to measure biosecurity at broiler farms and the relationship with technical performance and antimicrobial use (Research paper – Gelaude, 2014)

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150 Research paper – Gelaude – 2014 – Biocheck Ugent_ a quantitative tool to measure biosecurity at broiler farms and the relationship with technical performance and antimicrobial use

SIG: Biosecurity
Species targeted: Poultry;
Age: Young;Adult;
Summary:
The Biocheck.UGent scoring system was developed to measure and quantify the level of biosecurity on broiler farms. This tool is composed of all relevant components of biosecurity on broiler farms and is subdivided into external (purchase of 1-d-old chicks, off-farm movements of live animals, feed and water supply, removal of manure and dead birds, entrance of visitors and personnel, supply of materials, infrastructure and biological vectors, location of the farm) and internal (disease management, cleaning and disinfection, materials, and measures between compartments) biosecurity. This scoring system takes the relative importance of the different biosecurity aspects into account, resulting in a risk-based weighted score. The Biocheck.UGent scoring system can be filled in for free at www.Biocheck.UGent.be. The obtained biosecurity scores are provided immediately after completion of the questionnaire, and the scores for each subcategory can be compared with national averages to allow for benchmarking of results between colleagues.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25193257; http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps.2014-04002

Country: BE

148 Review of transmission routes of 24 infectious diseases preventable by biosecurity measures and comparison of the implementation of these measures (Research paper – Filippitzi, 2018)

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148 Research paper – Filippitzi – 2018 – Review of transmission routes of 24 infectious diseases preventable by biosecurity measures and comparison of the implementation of these measures

SIG: Biosecurity
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
This study reviews the transmission routes of important infectious pig diseases and their impact on transmission in pig herds. First, a literature review identifying transmission routes of 24 infectious pig diseases preventable through biosecurity measures was done. Second, the level of implementation of these measures using data obtained from 574 pig farms in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, entered between January 2014 and January 2016 was analyzed quantitatively. Third, a qualitative analysis based on a review of literature and other relevant information resources was performed. The quantitative analysis indicated that at the level of internal, external and overall biosecurity, Denmark had a distinct profile with higher external biosecurity scores and less variation than the other countries. The qualitative analysis identified differences in applied policies, legislation, disease status, pig farm density, farming culture and habits between countries that can be useful for country-specific biosecurity advice.
148

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29124908; https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.12758

Country: BE; DK

142 Using the Biocheck UGent scoring tool in Irish farrow-to-finish pig farms_ assessing biosecurity and its relation to productive performance (Research paper – Da Costa – 2019)

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142 Research paper – da Costa – 2019 – Using the Biocheck UGen scoring tool in Irish farrow-to-finish pig farms_ assessing biosecurity and its relation to productive performance

Significant Interest Groups: Biosecurity

Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Biosecurity is one of the main factors affecting disease occurrence and antimicrobial use, and it is associated with performance in pig production. The aim of this study was to describe the biosecurity status in a cohort of Irish pig farms, and to study the impact of biosecurity on farm performance. External biosecurity score was high compared to most countries due to the characteristics of the Irish pig sector (i.e. purchasing only semen and breeding gilts on farm). The internal biosecurity score was lower and had greater variability among farms than other EU countries. Data analysis showed the biosecurity practices explained 8, 23, and 16% of variability in piglet mortality, finisher mortality, and average daily gain, respectively. Our results point out that lower performing farms need to improve practices related to the environment, region, feed, water and equipment supply, and the overall management of the different production stages.

Where to find the original material: https://rdcu.be/b40Qv; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-018-0113-6
Country: IE; BE: ES

140 Biosecurity Practices for Dairy Operations by Texas AgriLife Extension (Tools & Checklists)

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140 ToolsChecklists – Biosecurity Practices for Dairy Operations by Texas AgriLife Extension

Significant Interest Groups: Biosecurity

Species targeted: Dairy; Beef;
Summary:
Biosecurity measures prevent infectious diseases from affecting a herd. By implementing general management and vaccination practices, producers protect their herds from existing diseases within a country and from possible foreign animal disease outbreaks. This US made checklist and fact sheet contains information on herd immunity, common diseases, vaccination protocols, best practice animal husbandry, key steps to take when purchasing animals, biosecurity practices and staffing. It includes helpful tick lists of what steps you can take to ensure disease does not enter, spread or multiply on your farm.

https://texashelp.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Biosecurity-Practices-For-Dairy-Operations.pdf;

Country: USA;

136 On-farm biosecurity as perceived by professionals visiting Swedish farms (Research paper – Noremark, 2014)

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136 Research paper – Noremark – 2014 – On-farm biosecurity as perceived by professionals visiting Swedish farms

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity
Species targeted: Pigs; Dairy; Sheep; Other;
Age: Different for different species;
Summary:
The objectives of this study were to investigate how professionals visiting animal farms in Sweden in their daily work perceive the on-farm conditions for biosecurity, the factors that influence their own biosecurity routines and what they describe as obstacles for biosecurity. Visited pig farms had a higher proportion of biosecurity measures in place, whereas the conditions were poorer on sheep and goat farms and horse farms. Many of the reported obstacles related to the very basics of biosecurity, such as access to soap and water. Responsibility was identified to be a key issue; while some farmers expect visitors to take responsibility for keeping up biosecurity they do not provide the adequate on-farm conditions. There was a gap when it came to responsibility which needs to be clarified. Visitors need to take responsibility for avoiding spread of disease, while farmers need to assume responsibility for providing adequate conditions for on-farm biosecurity.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4036743/pdf/1751-0147-56-28.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-56-28

Country: SE

134 Profile of pig farms combining high performance and low (Research paper – Collineau, 2017 )

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134 Research paper – Collineau – 2017 – Profile of pig farms combining high performance and low

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Pig farmers have been advised to reduce their antimicrobial usage because of the threat of antimicrobial resistance. This study investigates the profile of ‘top-farms’, which combine both high technical performance and low antimicrobial usage. A study was conducted among 227 farrow-to-finish farms in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden. Within this study, 44 top-farms were compared with the ‘regular’ farms in terms of farm characteristics, biosecurity and health status. Top-farms had fewer gastrointestinal symptoms in suckling pigs and fewer respiratory symptoms in fatteners, which could partly explain their reduced need for antimicrobials and higher performance. They also had higher biosecurity and were located in sparsely populated pig areas. However, 14 farms of the top-farms group were located in densely populated pig areas, but they had higher internal biosecurity and more extensive vaccination against respiratory pathogens. These results illustrate that it is possible to control infectious diseases with low antimicrobial usage.
134

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29051316; https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.103988

Country: CH; FR; SE; BE; DE; DK