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Survey of Biosecurity in Poultry farms

Introduction


Background of the study

The recent and numerous (>240) outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has affected commercial turkey, poultry operations and backyard flocks of more than 20 US states during 2014-2015 as well as the recent outbreaks of Newcastle disease in multiple US states highlights the urgent need to develop and implement solutions to protect US poultry industry against these devastating diseases. The capture and analysis of key information about biosecurity and management practices on poultry operations and backyard flocks will allow the personalized and more accurate, estimation of the risk of Avian Influenza or Newcastle disease viruses exposure on the participant farms as well as on the US poultry industry as a whole. The identification of the high risk areas and time periods for HPAI/ND outbreaks is critical for the implementation of timely and targeted surveillance and biosecurity measures, providing a much more cost-effective way to prevent future outbreaks in the US.

This survey was designed by researchers of the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS, https://cadms.vetmed.ucdavis.edu) at University of California, Davis under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2015–09118 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The main goal is to evaluate and inform producers about their specific biosecurity level in relation to the risk of introduction/spread of avian influenza (both low pathogenic or highly pathogenic avian influenza) and Newcastle disease into their premises. Moreover, data collected in this survey will be de-identified and summarized to provide valuable information of the overall biosecurity level for avian influenza in different production systems in the US, which would be a very useful background information for the poultry industry.

How does it work?

Participation is completely voluntary. The survey questions target both external risk factors (factors responsible for introduction of avian influenza and/or Newcastle disease virus when not present) and internal risk factors (factors responsible for spreading avian influenza when already present). After completion of the survey each poultry flock will get a biosecurity score based on their survey responses (i.e., self-assessment) and a list of customized recommendations to improve their biosecurity score and make more informed decisions.

Good info in = good biosecurity score out! Please take the time to complete the survey accurately to obtain accurate results. All survey data will be treated with the maximum confidentially: producers will have full access to their own biosecurity scores and customized recommendations but only de-identified summaries will be made publicly available for the poultry industry/general public in the form of reports and peer-reviewed publications. Results will also inform the development of biosecurity education programs for farmers, backyard producers and poultry veterinarians.

Why should you participate?
  • Results of this survey will help poultry producers and poultry veterinarians to know the biosecurity level on their farms in real-time (i.e., after survey completion) and based on the actual measures implemented.
  • Poultry producers will obtain a list of customized recommendations adapted to their production system to better prevent and control not only avian influenza but many other poultry diseases into their flocks.
  • It will guide poultry producers with medium and low biosecurity scores to identify and prioritize interventions and improve their biosecurity status.
  • It will provide the US poultry industry a better understanding of the practices and biosecurity status across different production systems to inform decisions and improve the resilience, sustainability and profitability of the poultry sector.

How to contact us?

If you have any questions or comments you may contact us anytime at: Your participation is essential!!. The survey will take about 15-20 minutes of your time.​
Please if you have more than one farm, fill out the survey individually for each farm.

Thank you for your participation and commitment to poultry farming!