Exploring broiler diseases, farm biosecurity, and antibiotic practices at Upazila Veterinary Hospital, Patiya, Bangladesh

Abstract

Broiler poultry is the cheapest and available protein source, fulfilling the meat demand in Bangladesh. However, broiler farming has a high disease prevalence, which limits farmer profits, increases indiscriminate antibiotic use, and leads to the consequences of antimicrobial resistance and zoonoses. Therefore, this study was conducted to have an in-depth analysis of diseases, used antibiotic patterns, and associated farm biosecurity practices in reported broiler cases at Upazila Veterinary Hospital, Patiya, Bangladesh, from April to June 2024. A structured questionnaire was used to collect epidemiological data on 89 broiler cases, including demographic information and details of diseases with clinical and post-mortem findings and prescribed antibiotics. Most of the farmers (57.3%) were 31-55 years old, 78.8% had SSC levels of education, 57.3% had medium-scale farms, and 62.9% were credit farms. The infectious bursal disease was the most prevalent (22%), followed by Colibacillosis (15%), Coccidiosis, Heat stress (9%), and Chronic respiratory disease (8%) while Salmonellosis and Aspergillosis were 4% each, Newcastle disease was 3%. The prevalence of Concurrent Diseases (IBD + Coccidiosis, Aspergillosis + Salmonellosis, Salmonellosis + Colibacillosis, Salmonellosis + Mycoplasmosis, Colibacillosis + Necrotic enteritis) was alarming (20%) also. Regarding, farm biosecurity measures, the farmers responded to maintaining personal hygiene (85.4%), using disinfectant and footbath before entering the shed (57.3%), cleaning the shed with disinfectant after selling a batch (88.8%), maintaining 2 weeks intervals between 2 batches (85.4%) and also properly treat the used litter material after a batch (burn: 47.2%) and discard dead birds (bury: 55.1%) though 70.8% of the farmers had no formal training prior poultry farming. The study also obtained enrofloxacin as the most prescribed medicine in all diagnosed bacterial and viral diseases followed by levofloxacin, and gentamycin. The study recommends that farmers require training in a sustainable and evaluation framework-based poultry farming training module that will help address maintaining proper biosecurity measures and prevent diseases as well as antimicrobial resistance problems as the poultry sector develops.