Effectiveness of biosecurity measures in some selected farms in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Biosecurity in poultry farm is a set of practices designed to prevent the entry and spread of infectious diseases into and from a poultry farm. It is one of the most economical and effective methods of disease prevention and control in the poultry industry. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed to capture data on biosecurity practices observed by some registered poultry farms randomly selected in Kwara State from March 2016 to December 2016. Data generated under a focused group discussion covered information on farm environment and hygiene, risk factors, disease management, control and regulations. Epi Info software package version 6.04 was used for data analysis. The relationships between the dependent and independent variables were compared using the χ² tests. A P-value of ˂0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference that biosecurity measure is of great relevance in the poultry industry. The study revealed that the management practices and hygiene methods employed in the farms investigated were not in tandem with standard biosecurity measures and practices (SD≤0.5), standard methods and their implication of non-compliance were also not well understood. We recommend ‘all-in and all-out’ management system of practice and further research on biosecurity measures for human and animal health and protection.

Keywords: Biosecurity measures, poultry farms, Kwara State