Methods and Tools Used for Biosecurity Assessment in Livestock Farms in Africa: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Farm biosecurity has gained increasing attention worldwide during the last decades because of its role in reducing the occurrence of diseases and improving animal performance. Recently, recommendations to reinforce the concept of farm biosecurity in lower- and middle-income countries have been advised. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive description of the methods and tools used to assess biosecurity compliance in livestock farms in Africa and formulate recommendations. The present review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies reporting biosecurity assessment in poultry, cattle, pig, goat, or sheep farms in Africa were included. Five databases were searched with no date restrictions. A total of 41 studies across 17 countries were finally selected. Selected studies were all published after 2008, and an increasing trend in the number of papers published per year was noticed. In total, 41 different methods for biosecurity assessment were found to be used in African countries, meaning that even within the same country, the same animal species, and the same farming system, different methods were utilized. In many papers, the methods used for biosecurity evaluation were poorly described. In addition, during the biosecurity assessment, measures related to the purchase of laying hens, egg transport and management, calves, calving and dairy management, and nursery units were almost not considered. These measures should be contemplated in future studies since they are related to important risk factors for the introduction and dissemination of infectious diseases. Interestingly, some measures not considered in European biosecurity tools were identified in the selected studies. The observed high difference in methods used may be due to the lack of regulations on biosecurity in African countries; therefore, the authors recommend the development and implementation of a harmonized and contextualized method for the assessment of biosecurity in livestock farms in Africa.

Figure 1

Flow diagram illustrating the selection process of eligible studies. This flow diagram presents the selection process and the number of papers selected in each step.

Figure 2

Map of Africa showing for each country, the number of studies per animal species included in the scoping review. The map also presents the number of selected studies per African region.

Figure 3

Number of studies on biosecurity assessment in livestock farms published per year in Africa. The figure presents the number of studies published. The search was performed between the 17th and the 21st August 2023 in five databases with no date restriction.

Figure 4

Factors assessed for their association with biosecurity measures in livestock farms in Africa (n = 22). The figure reports the number of studies in which the association between at least one biosecurity measure and another factor (i.e., animal health, demographics of farmers, economy, farm characteristics, production performance, antimicrobial usage (AMU), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR)) was assessed. In many studies, more than one factor was considered.

Figure 5

Number of studies assessing the impact of biosecurity measures in Africa. The figure reports the number (percentage) of studies per animal species in which the association between at least one biosecurity measure and another factor (i.e., animal health, demographics of farmers, economy, farm characteristics, production performance, antimicrobial usage, and antimicrobial resistance) was assessed. In many studies, more than one factor was considered. One study considered all the three ruminant species and one both pig and poultry farms.