Original Scientific Article
Evaluating biosecurity on selected commercial pig farms in Serbia
Branislav Kureljušić * ,
Jelena Maletić ,
Božidar Savić ,
Bojan Milovanović ,
Milan Ninković ,
Nemanja Jezdimirović ,
Jasna Prodanov-Radulović

Mac Vet Rev 2024; 47 (2): 141 - 149

10.2478/macvetrev-2024-0025

Received: 28 March 2024

Received in revised form: 13 August 2024

Accepted: 15 August 2024

Available Online First: 02 September 2024

Published on: 15 October 2024

Correspondence: Branislav Kureljušić, branislavkureljusic@yahoo.com
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Abstract

Biosecurity measures, coupled with effective on-farm management, encompass all aspects aimed at preventing the entry of pathogens into pig farms and their subsequent spread within the facility. This study assessed biosecurity practices on commercial pig farms in Serbia by surveying farm veterinarians/managers. To evaluate biosecurity on these farms, a Biocheck online survey (https://biocheckgent.com) was conducted across ten commercial pig farms in Northern Serbia, where the highest concentration of industrial pig production occurs. The average overall biosecurity score was 65.56 ±11.65. External biosecurity scored higher (75.56 ±9.39), whereas internal biosecurity scored lower (54.89 ±16.92). Within external biosecurity, the weakest scores were observed in categories such as feed, water, and equipment supply (47 ±25.48), showing considerable variation among farms, particularly in feed, water, equipment supply (54.22), and farm location (57.65). Regarding internal biosecurity, the lowest scores were noted during the farrowing and suckling period (37.22 ±15.08) and the finishing unit (37.66 ±24.12). This study reveals that biosecurity measures in commercial pig farms in Serbia are slightly below the global average. Given the predominance of extensive production systems in Serbia, urgent improvements in biosecurity practices on industrial farms are essential. Identification and implementation of appropriate biosecurity measures tailored to existing animal production systems are urgently needed.

Keywords: biosecurity, assessment, pig, commercial (industrial) farms, Serbia


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Copyright

© 2024 Kureljušić B. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no potential lict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 47, Issue 2, Pages 141-149, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2024-0025