Assessment of biosecurity measures against highly pathogenic avian influenza risks in small-scale commercial farms and free-range poultry flocks in the northcentral Nigeria.

There is considerable global concern over the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has affected domestic poultry flocks in Nigeria and other parts of the world. There have been little investigations on the proposition that free-range flocks are potentially at higher risk of HPAI than confined small-scale commercial enterprises. The objective is to analyse the biosecurity measures instituted in the small-scale commercial poultry farms and established free-range bird flocks owned by households in the rural areas and qualitatively assess the risk status at the two levels of poultry management systems in northcentral Nigeria. We used data collected through questionnaire administration to farms and flock owners and subjected them to a traffic light system model to test for relative risks of HPAI infection based on the biosecurity measures put in place at the farm and flock levels. The results indicate that free-range flocks are at lower risk compared to small-scale commercial operations. These findings are plausible as birds from free-range flocks have more opportunities to contact wild bird reservoirs of low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) strains than small-scale commercial poultry, thus providing them with constant challenge and maintenance of flock immunity. The development of efficient and effective biosecurity measures against poultry diseases on small-scale commercial farms requires adequate placement of barriers to provide segregation, cleaning and disinfection, while concerted community-led sanitary measures are required for free-range poultry flocks in the developing topical and subtropical economies.