| dc.description.abstract | Although Uganda has many wetlands and lies on the migratory flyway for birds flying
from Siberia through the Middle East and moving along the great Rift Valley to
Southern Africa, it has not yet experienced avian influenza infection. However, the
risks of exposure are extremely high given the fact that outbreaks have occurred and
continue to occur in Egypt which lies directly along this flyway. It is therefore
appropriate to assess the possible bio-security flaws that may arise in all the poultry
sectors placing special emphasis on the more vulnerable poultry production systems of
sectors 3 and 4. In this regard FAO has commissioned a biosecurity study of all the
poultry production sectors in Uganda to identify the potential bio-security risks in order
to lay a basis for developing effective control measures and provide guidelines for
appropriate bio-security interventions.
Bio-security principles are to be incorporated at the conceptual stage of each
component of the poultry value chain and then during the actual implementation of the
structures to carry out the business. Once these are in place, operational
biosecurity principles are designed for the day to day simple procedures and practices
which when applied prevent entry into or spread within a farm of disease agents, or the
exit of the disease agent from infected premises.
The operational protocols are summed up into three principles, namely: Isolation
which involves procedures, practices, and manouvres to ensure that clean flocks
remain free from disease agents and that disease agents remain confined in infected
flocks and do not spread to other premises; Traffic control which includes signage to
warn visitors that biosecurity protocols are being observed; controlling movement of
stock, persons, goods, equipment and products into the clean farm and out of infected
premises; and finally Sanitation, which involves methods that enable farmers to
maintain farm houses, vehicles, implements and equipment, remain in a state of
sustained cleanliness, and are disinfected.
Thus, the flaws and strengths in any of these biosecurity issues were investigated
throughout the poultry value chain in Uganda. The exposure to biosecurity risks was
found to differ for the respective poultry sectors, as follows: | en |
