Page 1 of 4Biosecurity is crucial and essential for the safe and profitable production of all types of livestock, but poultry is especially at risk for the following reasons
Modern poultry production is highly intensive with fast throughput and short turnaround times for batches of birds.
There is a heightened risk of disease development and spread on typical multi-age farms and especially for young birds newly established in poultry houses vacated by mature flocks sent to market or culled
The continuous threat of importing disease carried on vehicles that have previously stopped at other farms during delivery of new birds and feed and those taking broilers out to the processing plant and eggs out to packing sheds.
High risk from large transient and contract work forces in close contact with birds and employment history at other farms.
The add on extra risk from contract workers brought in to carry out specific tasks like catching and vaccination
Specific threats from poultry diseases such as avian influenza now established in wild bird populations and backyard poultry
Acute susceptibility of poultry to rodent-borne infections like salmonella, fungus spores causing aspergillosis and mycotoxins produced by specific mould fungi
