Biosecurity Evaluation on Intensive Laying Hens’ Farms in Albania – Assessing Practices and Recommendations for Disease Prevention

This study was funded by the National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation (NASRI) in Albania, under the contracted project “Antimicrobial resistance in layers production chain: Risks and “One Health” approach implication”, a total of 5 laying hens’ intensive farms (with population ranging from 18,500 caps to 320,000 caps) were evaluated across one district, using structured questionnaires and on-site inspections. For data collection, two predesigned two check documents were prepared: a qualitative survey and a biosecurity questionnaire in accordance with laying hens survey by Biocheck ugent and one visit was applied in each of the selected farms. Results summarize the response of the veterinary technicians regarding the application of biosecurity measures in the establishments under investigation. The scoring system enables us for the first time in Albania, to quantify the applied biosecurity at herd level, considering all relevant aspects of biosecurity. At the same time, the scoring system can be used as a motivational and didactic tool for the farmer. The employed biosecurity measures were founded to be similar among the surveyed farms. These include cleaning between loadings, providing foot baths, and disinfecting vehicles that enter or restricting entry to a dirty area. The average internal biosecurity for the five laying hens’ establishments was 29 out of 33 points, compared with the average result of external biosecurity as 51 out of 67 point. This difference relies on major focus by the farms on the internal biosecurity measures neglecting the source of the infections coming from outside into the farm. However, this factor again highlights the risk of cross-contamination, which could be mitigated by better hygiene and disinfection practices, for which costs are limited.