الفهرس 
Cover Page Title in EnglishOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 57 |  |  |
| | | from | 57 | | |
Abstract
Questionnaire survey and observational study was conducted to collect data on biosecurity measures to investigate the relationship between the application of biosecurity measures and the prevalence of avian diseases (AI was an example) in broiler farms. A total of 100 small scale broiler farms located in Qaliobiya province were included in the current study where data were collected through direct observation and interviews made with owners and workers using a structured-questionnaire during the period extended from January to December 2016. Also, five cloacal swabs were obtained from each farm to be investigated for the presence of HPAI by application of rapid avian influenza virus antigen test kit. Finally, the application of different biosecurity measures and the prevalence of AI was related and analyzed statistically.
I. The analysis of data of the applied questionnaire clarified that:
1. Investigation of traffic control measures:
• 84% of the broiler farms noted that there was no access of predators and rodents while 16% of farms declared that there was an access of predators and rodents.
• 88% of the broiler farms showed that there was no contact with wild birds while 12% informed that there was contact with wild birds.
• 88% of the broiler farms showed that there was no sharing of equipment while 12% informed that there was sharing of equipment.
• 76% of the broiler farms showed that there was an open for non-authorized visitors while only 24% informed that there was no permission for non-authorized persons.
• 76% of the broiler farms showed that they used separate cloth and shoes while only 24% informed that there was no separate cloth and shoes.
2. Investigation of application of sanitation practices:
• 80 % of broiler farms showed that there was a foot bath at the gate while 20% declared the absence of foot bath.
• 88% of broiler farms showed that performed disinfection before entrance of chicken. Moreover, 48% of broiler farms used fumigation and 40% used spraying. On contrary, only 12% said that they did not disinfect their houses.
• Concerning disposal of dead birds, 56% of broiler farms informed that they threw dead birds away that was objectionable from the hygienic point of view while 36% informed that they used burial and only 8 farms had incinerators.
3. Investigation of application of isolation practices:
• 83% of the investigated farms informed that they followed the policy of “All in All out”.
• Only 32% of the investigated farms informed that they performed isolation of the infected farms and prevent visitors and only 24% informed that they used separate attendants for the isolated houses.
4. Investigation of application of prophylaxis measures:
• 96% of the investigated farms informed that they followed a vaccination program while only 4% announced that they did not have one.
• 80 % of the investigated farms informed that they used antibiotics for avoid diseases especially respiratory diseases.
II. Prevalence of avian influenza in broiler farms in Qaliobiya province:
• Detection of avian influenza virus antigen was carried out by using rapid avian influenza virus antigen test kit (ANIGEN® Animal Genetics, Inc. Korea).
• It was recorded that the total prevalence of AI was 34%.
• Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the prevalence of AI in the five investigated districts of Qaliobiya province.
• The broiler farms located in Qaliob district scored the highest prevalence (50%) followed by broiler farms located in Toukh district (40%) then El Khanka (35%) then Banha (25%) and lastly El Qanater (20%).
III. The relationship between AI infection and application of biosecurity measures in the investigated broiler houses:
• Chi-square analysis of the obtained results showed that there was a significant association between the application of traffic control measures and the prevalence of AI.
• Also, it was noticed that there was a significant association between the application of sanitation measures and the prevalence of AI.
• On contrary, there was non-significant association between isolation of the diseased houses and the prevalence of AI.
• Moreover, there was a significant association between the application of prophylactic measures and the prevalence of AI.
• At the end, it was observed that the prevalence of AI was higher in broiler farms showed relaxed biosecurity.