Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 16;15(12):1771.
doi: 10.3390/ani15121771.

Impact of Biosecurity on Production Performance and Antimicrobial Usage in Broiler Farms in Cameroon

Stephane D Ziebe  1 , Ronald Vougat Ngom  1 , Adonis M M Akoussa  1 , Henry P Bogning  2 , Henriette A Zangue  3
Affiliations

Impact of Biosecurity on Production Performance and Antimicrobial Usage in Broiler Farms in Cameroon

Stephane D Ziebe et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The broiler industry is the most developed livestock sector in Cameroon. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between biosecurity implementation with production performance and antibiotic usage in broiler farms in Cameroon. Data concerning biosecurity, production performance (average daily gain or ADG, mortality rate, feed conversion ratio or FCR, and performance index or PI), and antimicrobial usage (AMU) were collected in 57 farms in the Adamawa and North regions. The average total biosecurity score of broiler farms was 52/100. ADG (46.54 ± 5.18 g versus 43.80 ± 4.16 g), FCR (1.59 ± 0.61 versus 1.75 ± 0.58), mortality rate (2.47% versus 6.65%), and PI (339.21 ± 105.79 versus 268.22 ± 101.09) were statistically better in farms with good biosecurity. The majority of antibiotics used (55.2%) were classified as critically important for human medicine, with 83.9% of antibiotics underdosed/overdosed. No correlation was found between biosecurity and AMU, although there was a trend towards reduced use in farms with good biosecurity. The misuse of antibiotics will result in an increased development of antimicrobial resistance, which can be transmitted to humans. This study highlights the importance of biosecurity in improving poultry performance and reducing AMU. Continuous training and awareness-raising efforts among farmers on the importance of biosecurity are needed to reduce AMU and improve farmers' profitability.

Keywords: Africa; FCR; antibiotic; antimicrobial resistance; chicken; disease prevention; poultry.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Henry P. Bogning was employed by the company SPC. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of broiler farms surveyed in the Adamawa and North regions (Cameroon).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Medical importance and distribution of the antibiotics used in broiler farms in Adamawa and North regions (Cameroon). Red: highest priority critically important antimicrobials; Blue: critically important antimicrobials; Green: highly important antimicrobials.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of the classes of antibiotics (according to WHO classification) used in broiler farms according to the indication. HPCIA: highest priority critically important antimicrobials; CIA: critically important antimicrobials; HIA: highly important antimicrobials.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation between biosecurity and production performance in broiler farms. (A): Correlation between biosecurity and average daily gain; (B): Correlation between biosecurity and feed conversion ratio; (C): Correlation between biosecurity and mortality rate; (D): Correlation between biosecurity and performance index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Monamele G.C., Phalla Y., Albert E., Vernet M., Wade A. Evidence of exposure and human seroconversion during an outbreak of avian influenza A (H5N1) among poultry in Cameroon. Emerg. Microbes Infect. 2019;8:186–196. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2018.1564631. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. MINEPIA . Statistical Yearbook of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries of Cameroon. MINEPIA; Yaoundé, Cameroon: 2019. Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry.
    1. Mpouam S.E., Ikoum D., Hadja L., Kilekoung Mingoas J.P., Saegerman C. Parallel multicriteria decision analysis for sub-national prioritization of zoonoses and animal diseases in Africa: The case of Cameroon. PLoS ONE. 2024;19:e0295742. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295742. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rahmani A., Ahmed Laloui H., Kara R., Dems M.A., Cherb N., Klikha A., Blake D.P. The financial cost of coccidiosis in Algerian chicken production: A major challenge for the poultry sector. Avian Pathol. 2024;53:368–379. doi: 10.1080/03079457.2024.2336091. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kouam M.K., Tchouankui H.N., Ngapagna A.N. Epidemiological features of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Cameroon. Vet. Med. Int. 2019;1:3796369. doi: 10.1155/2019/3796369. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources