Proper biosecurity can prevent the spread of disease from

  • Humans(hands, hair, footwear)
  • Vehicles(contaminated vehicles and equipment)
  • Animals(domestic and wild, including rodents)
  • Carcasses(those that are improperly disposed of) and manure, litter, debris, and feathers
  • Flocks (other people's backyard flocks, particularly if the birds are housed outside

Company Communications Plan Guidelines:

  • Train employees with standard biosecurity polices
  • Define trigger points to increase or decrease biosecurity
  • Should have a notification system for communicating change in disease status to essential employees, suppliers, and customers

Employee Protocol Plan Guidelines:

  • Park their vehicle in specified parking area only
  • Report to work in clean clothes and dedicated footwear
  • Wear clothing and footwear approved by the management
  • Wash hands prior to starting work and before and after eating
  • Use and maintain all footbaths they pass if applicable
  • Are not allowed into poultry production areas unless scheduled to work
  • Stay in designated work areas on the premises
  • Service birds from clinically normal to sick
  • Work with poultry before working with other species especially swine
  • Report all abnormal bird mortality to their supervisor
  • Will not bring visitors on farm without prior company approval
  • Must have 72 hours between travel out of the country or to a high risk area before returning to work
  • Not own birds, pet birds or have contact with birds outside of work
  • Notify management if employees visit exhibitions or sales involving any class of birds, hunt or visit migratory bird sites
  • Cannot hunt, fish, trap on a work day prior to coming to work and must have 12 hours downtime after hunting, fishing or trapping

Delivery Vehicle Guidelines:

  • Truck drivers must stay in designated areas and cannot enter poultry houses
  • Truck drivers must keep trucks and trailers visibly clean inside and out
  • Feed spills should be minimized and cleaned up as required

Premise Security Guidelines:

  • Entrances to premises will be secured
  • Entrance policy should be defined for all types off traffic onto the premises
  • Visitor policy will include stranger and intruder policies
  • No pets or other types of poultry are allowed into the poultry house
  • Do not loan to, or borrow equipment or vehicles from other farms

Flock Management Plan Guidelines:

  • Keep an “all-in”, all-out” production method
  • Do not bring birds from slaughter channels back to the farm, especially live bird markets
  • Keep incoming poultry separate from unsold birds
  • Avoid visiting other poultry farms, poultry shows and fairs.  After such a visit bathe, change footwear and clothing before working with own flock

Wild Bird Plan Guidelines:

  • Protect poultry flocks from coming into contact with wild or migratory birds
  • Wild bird nests must be removed as soon as they are discovered
  • Will bird roosting sites and feed spill will be minimized
  • Buildings should be maintained to prevent wild bird intrusion
  • Keep poultry away from any source of water that may be contaminated by wild birds

Dead Bird and Manure Disposal Plan Guidelines:

  • Daily removal and disposal of dead birds as performed: composting, burial, incineration
  • Manure handling and disposal procedures

Cleaning and Disinfecting:

  • Clean first before disinfecting
      • Clean all dirt and manure off surface of equipment
        • Laundry or dish soap works well
        • Do tires and undercarriage of  vehicles
      • Wash down with a good disinfectant to kill poultry viruses
      • Shoes can be brushed or scrubbed off and then sprayed with disinfectant
  • Easy footbath
      • Low plastic pan or bin, wide enough to fit adult's foot and shallow enough to step into easily
      • Plastic doormat (fake grass mats work well)
      • A disinfectant that works well for most situations, such as Tek-trol (from Bio-Tek industries) or One Stroke Environ (available from Steris Corporation)
      • Mix the disinfectant with water following label instructions
      • Put doormat in plastic pan
      • Add disinfectant so that the bottom of the “grass” is wet
      • Walk through footbath, wiping feet on mat
      • When liquid starts to get dirty, empty and put in new disinfectant