Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BioSecure (Enhanced and cost-effective biosecurity in livestock production)
Período documentado: 2024-07-01 hasta 2025-12-31
Keeping animals for food involves the risk of infectious diseases which might cause harm to animals, humans and the environment. Veterinary medicine aims to reduce the impact of animal diseases through prevention and treatment. However, antimicrobial usage should be reduced worldwide and therefore protecting animals against diseases and maintaining their health is crucial. To do so, the introduction and spread of pathogens into and on a farm should be prevented via the implementation of biosecurity measures.
Although, it has been proven that biosecurity measures benefit animal health, food production, food safety and biodiversity, the implementation of biosecurity in livestock production remains largely insufficient. Furthermore, current focus is mainly on the intensive, conventional livestock production leaving a knowledge gap for other farming systems such as extensive, pasture-based, low-input, or organic production of livestock. There is an urgency to better understand the need and feasibility of biosecurity measures in those systems.
Firstly, the effectiveness of specific biosecurity measures on the transmission routes of pathogens should be investigated further to make it possible to rank biosecurity measures by importance. Furthermore, existing information on biosecurity will be brought together and will be used to make models predicting the influence of biosecurity measures on the introduction and spread of diseases which can be used to help farmers understand the role of biosecurity. Besides this, field data will be collected on the implementation of biosecurity in different farm types and studies will be performed to better understand the effectiveness of certain, specific biosecurity measures.
Sustainable livestock production requires good biosecurity and optimal animal welfare, which do not always align. Within BIOSECURE conflicting and complementing aspects of biosecurity and animal welfare will be identified, solutions will be investigated and communicated to the relevant stakeholders to optimize biosecurity without compromising the welfare of the animals.
Implementing biosecurity measures on the farm is the responsibility of the farmer. Many human factors such as costs, workload, and perceived usefulness, influence the decision making in biosecurity. Motivators and barriers affect the implementation of biosecurity measures but knowledge to overcome those barriers is lacking. There is a high need for quantification of economic benefits of biosecurity measures and tools to motivate farmers. The cost and benefits of biosecurity measures will be investigated in the BIOSECURE project at farm level and at a larger sector level. This information, combined with the developed models and collected existing data will result in practical guidelines for famers on how to implement and prioritize biosecurity measures. At higher, sector level, policy scenarios will be provided to increase biosecurity at national level. Furthermore, the economic impact of those policy scenarios will be evaluated. BIOSECURE's ultimate goal is to improve the capacity of all livestock stakeholders to understand, prioritize and implement evidence-based, cost-effective and sustainable biosecurity management systems in current and future terrestrial livestock production.
Although, it has been proven that biosecurity measures benefit animal health, food production, food safety and biodiversity, the implementation of biosecurity in livestock production remains largely insufficient. Furthermore, current focus is mainly on the intensive, conventional livestock production leaving a knowledge gap for other farming systems such as extensive, pasture-based, low-input, or organic production of livestock. There is an urgency to better understand the need and feasibility of biosecurity measures in those systems.
Firstly, the effectiveness of specific biosecurity measures on the transmission routes of pathogens should be investigated further to make it possible to rank biosecurity measures by importance. Furthermore, existing information on biosecurity will be brought together and will be used to make models predicting the influence of biosecurity measures on the introduction and spread of diseases which can be used to help farmers understand the role of biosecurity. Besides this, field data will be collected on the implementation of biosecurity in different farm types and studies will be performed to better understand the effectiveness of certain, specific biosecurity measures.
Sustainable livestock production requires good biosecurity and optimal animal welfare, which do not always align. Within BIOSECURE conflicting and complementing aspects of biosecurity and animal welfare will be identified, solutions will be investigated and communicated to the relevant stakeholders to optimize biosecurity without compromising the welfare of the animals.
Implementing biosecurity measures on the farm is the responsibility of the farmer. Many human factors such as costs, workload, and perceived usefulness, influence the decision making in biosecurity. Motivators and barriers affect the implementation of biosecurity measures but knowledge to overcome those barriers is lacking. There is a high need for quantification of economic benefits of biosecurity measures and tools to motivate farmers. The cost and benefits of biosecurity measures will be investigated in the BIOSECURE project at farm level and at a larger sector level. This information, combined with the developed models and collected existing data will result in practical guidelines for famers on how to implement and prioritize biosecurity measures. At higher, sector level, policy scenarios will be provided to increase biosecurity at national level. Furthermore, the economic impact of those policy scenarios will be evaluated. BIOSECURE's ultimate goal is to improve the capacity of all livestock stakeholders to understand, prioritize and implement evidence-based, cost-effective and sustainable biosecurity management systems in current and future terrestrial livestock production.
At national level the relevant stakeholders in the livestock production were identified. The stakeholder network was contacted multiple times over the course of the project for example to provide input on solutions for conflicts between biosecurity and animal welfare.
On the project website, two interactive pages are available, providing an overview of ‘Biosecurity application databases’ and ‘Biosecurity supporting measures’. In addition, a large database, PARAMETRA, was compiled and made publicly available. This database includes more than 2,000 individual parameter values for 20 pathogens, such as transmission rates and diagnostic test efficacies, which can be used by other researchers in further studies.
Public- and private-domain data were used to develop European risk maps illustrating the risk of introduction and spread of specific diseases. These maps identify regions with high and low risk and show how risk levels change depending on the degree of biosecurity implementation. Furthermore, the impact of implementing specific biosecurity measures on disease introduction and spread was assessed using different models. A farm-level risk assessment model was developed to quantify the impact of specific external biosecurity measures on the risk of disease introduction. In addition, models were developed to assess the effectiveness of internal biosecurity measures in reducing pathogen transmission within herds. Together, these tools enable stakeholders to make informed decisions on which biosecurity measures to implement or improve.
New biosecurity quantification tools were developed. The surveys to assess the level of biosecurity implementation on small ruminant farms and outdoor pig farms are freely available online. In the near future, disease-specific surveys for African swine fever and avian influenza will become available, as well as surveys to assess the level of biosecurity in animal transport.
Field and experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of specific biosecurity measures, including hand and boot hygiene, cleaning and disinfection of animal transport vehicles, and showering procedures. In parallel, the costs associated with implementing these measures were mapped. Combined with data from the literature, these cost estimates will be used to model the economic impact of biosecurity implementation at the farm level. Furthermore, intervention studies were carried out to increase biosecurity levels on farms, taking into account farmers’ motivations and barriers. Most interventions successfully improved on-farm biosecurity, often accompanied by increased awareness and knowledge.
On the project website, two interactive pages are available, providing an overview of ‘Biosecurity application databases’ and ‘Biosecurity supporting measures’. In addition, a large database, PARAMETRA, was compiled and made publicly available. This database includes more than 2,000 individual parameter values for 20 pathogens, such as transmission rates and diagnostic test efficacies, which can be used by other researchers in further studies.
Public- and private-domain data were used to develop European risk maps illustrating the risk of introduction and spread of specific diseases. These maps identify regions with high and low risk and show how risk levels change depending on the degree of biosecurity implementation. Furthermore, the impact of implementing specific biosecurity measures on disease introduction and spread was assessed using different models. A farm-level risk assessment model was developed to quantify the impact of specific external biosecurity measures on the risk of disease introduction. In addition, models were developed to assess the effectiveness of internal biosecurity measures in reducing pathogen transmission within herds. Together, these tools enable stakeholders to make informed decisions on which biosecurity measures to implement or improve.
New biosecurity quantification tools were developed. The surveys to assess the level of biosecurity implementation on small ruminant farms and outdoor pig farms are freely available online. In the near future, disease-specific surveys for African swine fever and avian influenza will become available, as well as surveys to assess the level of biosecurity in animal transport.
Field and experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of specific biosecurity measures, including hand and boot hygiene, cleaning and disinfection of animal transport vehicles, and showering procedures. In parallel, the costs associated with implementing these measures were mapped. Combined with data from the literature, these cost estimates will be used to model the economic impact of biosecurity implementation at the farm level. Furthermore, intervention studies were carried out to increase biosecurity levels on farms, taking into account farmers’ motivations and barriers. Most interventions successfully improved on-farm biosecurity, often accompanied by increased awareness and knowledge.
The project will create output that remains useful beyond its duration, positively influencing the biosecurity levels on farms. So far, three new Biocheck.Ugent surveys are freely available online and can be used by all stakeholders to quantify the level of biosecurity on farms. Furthermore, a tool visualizing the impact of specific external biosecurity measures on the introduction of certain cattle diseases was already pilot tested.