Poultry Industry Steps Up Biosecurity Efforts

In 2007, Virginia’s poultry and egg industry contributed more than $937 million to Virginia’s economy. With the continuing threat of disease outbreaks in the poultry industry, including the highly recognized and publicized avian influenza, poultry producers are taking no chances.

With the help of Virginia Tech’s Poultry Extension Specialist Audrey McElroy and her colleagues, poultry producers have put a Biosecurity Audit Program in place to help prevent and lower the risk of disease transmission.

Following an outbreak of avian influenza in 2002 – which infected more than 190 farms and resulted in the depopulation of more than 4.7 million chickens and turkeys in the Shenandoah Valley – the Virginia Poultry Federation formed a poultry disease taskforce to address the increasing threat of biosecurity issues. The taskforce, made up of representatives from the major poultry companies, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and other public health groups, recommended the development of the biosecurity audit program.

"Virginia's poultry industry, in particular commercial broiler and turkey production, is highly concentrated in one area of the state, which creates more risk for the spread of disease," says McElroy.

The audit program has been in place since 2004 and all major poultry and egg companies in Virginia currently participate. Twice a year, the external biosecurity audit team assesses all segments of live production for the commercial broiler, turkey, and egg producers to identify biosecurity risks and opportunities for improvements in control of disease outbreaks or spread.

According to McElroy, companies are required to participate in two audits per year, and an external auditor must conduct at least one of the audits. Each audit consists of on-site visits to three to four farms covering all aspects of the operation, including the hatchery, feed mill, transportation, and service personnel. Face-to-face interviews are conducted with individual growers, and the company must also answer questions about its biosecurity protocol.

Upon completion of the audit, a report is provided to each company with its results. Company management have indicated that as a result of the audit reports, company personnel and growers were educated on identified biosecurity risks, corrective measures were taken by company personnel and growers, and awareness of biosecurity practices was increased.

“Since the audits were initiated, the average audit score of those companies participating every year has improved from 84.8 percent in 2004 to 97 percent in 2007,” says McElroy.

Information gathered through the audits is also used to identify areas where companies need improvements. Annual assessments from the audit outcomes and educational programs are addressed during the Virginia Poultry Federation’s Annual Health and Management Seminar.

McElroy is pleased with how the program is working. “Virginia’s poultry industry, in particular commercial broiler and turkey production, is highly concentrated in one area of the state, which creates more risk for the spread of disease,” she says.

Biosecurity protocols within the industry have proven effective. In 2007, a case of avian influenza was identified in a commercial poultry operation in Virginia, but was immediately quarantined and the disease was contained to one farm.

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