Following the 2014 and 2015 U.S. outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, biosecurity measures were developed and proposed by the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) General Conference Committee to standardize biosecurity practices in the NPIP.
Those biosecurity practices will serve as the minimum biosecurity principles that a poultry operation should follow to adhere to NPIP. The proposal was presented at the 2016 Biennial Conference and was amended and adopted on the floor by the combined NPIP delegates. The principles also serve as a basis for written site-specific biosecurity plans for poultry farms, which will be required by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The principles will be submitted to USDA for adoption into the Code of Federal Regulations.
The NPIP biosecurity principles address the responsibilities of the biosecurity coordinator including the development, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing effectiveness of the biosecurity program. The principles also addresses biosecurity training; the line of separation, which is the functional line separating the poultry houses and the poultry inside from exposure to potential disease threats and the perimeter buffer area, which is a functional zone supporting the poultry houses that teparates them from areas unrelated to poultry production in that site.
The NPIP biosecurity principles also address procedures and control measures for the following:
- Site-dedicated personnel
- Control measures for wild birds, rodents, and insects
- Cleaning, disinfection or restriction of equipment and vehicles
- Mortality disposal
- Manure and litter management
- Replacement poultry
- Water supplies
- Feed and replacement Litter
- Reporting of elevated morbidity and mortality
- Auditing
The complete NPIP biosecurity practices are available at npip-accepted-biosecurity-principles-2016.
