Evaluation Survey on Agreement with Existing Definitions of Biosecurity with a Focus on Livestock

Claude Saegerman*, Gianni Parisi, Jarkko K. Niemi, Marie-France Humblet, Jorge Ron-Roman, Bachir Souley Kouato, Alberto Allepuz, Vincent Porphyre, Maria Rodrigues da Costa, Veronique Renault

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
52 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Disease prevention, including biosecurity, surveillance, and traceability are key aspects to minimize the risk of animal diseases causing harm to society. Diseases for which biosecurity are needed depend on species of interest, e.g., African swine fever, avian influenza, or foot-and-mouth disease. However, several definitions of biosecurity co-exist in the literature. Under the new COST Action “Biosecurity Enhanced Through Training Evaluation and Raising Awareness” (BETTER) CA20103, we launched an initial survey on the agreement with eight existing definitions of (livestock) biosecurity, to rank keywords to consider before attempting a more consolidated definition, and to select the desirable qualities of a definition of livestock biosecurity. Respondents (N = 316) had a male–female gender ratio close to one, were mostly between 25 and 54 years old, and had animal health as the main field of expertise (30% were government officials). The significant most popular biosecurity definition was the one that conceptualized the rules of 5B’s (bio-exclusion, bio-containment, bio-compartmentation, bio-prevention, and bio-preservation). The top two keywords to consider for the consolidation of the biosecurity definition were “prevention” and “measures”. The optimal biosecurity definition needs to be operational and related to animal health but also comprehensible, simple, and related to public health. The survey results highlight the need for the integration of more aspects in the existing definitions of livestock biosecurity (prevention of zoonoses and preservation of the environment and diversity).
Original languageEnglish
Article number1518
JournalAnimals
Volume13
Issue number9
Early online date30 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusFirst published - 30 Apr 2023

Keywords

  • agreement
  • biosecurity
  • definition
  • EU COST Action
  • livestock
  • One Health
  • stakeholder
  • survey

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Evaluation Survey on Agreement with Existing Definitions of Biosecurity with a Focus on Livestock'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this