Decontamination project for the Australian poultry industry

Decontamination forms an integral part of on-farm biosecurity and is necessary for improving animal health and on-farm food safety. The AUSVETPLAN Operational Procedures Manual for Decontamination and the AUSVETPLAN Disease Strategies for EADs in poultry (avian influenza and Newcastle disease) do not contain specific guidance for different production systems and poultry species, and do not provide robust methods on validating effective decontamination to confidently declare an area free of disease. The objectives of this project are to fill these gaps and develop material that can supplement AUSVETPLAN as well as assist poultry operators with decontamination during every day operations.

The project will be a cross-jurisdictional undertaking, will include all poultry species and all production types, and will consider decontamination for all pathogens including notifiable and EADs as well as during normal circumstances.

A key objective of the project will be to develop formal guidelines and procedures for all stakeholders which contain instructions on effective decontamination depending on the poultry species, farm type, and disease-status of the farm and/or area. These formal guidelines and procedures can provide a basis for a standardised method of decontamination for the poultry industries at a national level. Another key objective of the project is the construction of robust validation methods of effective decontamination after decontamination is performed. A final objective is endorsement of the formal material by the Animal Health Committee. The material can then be referred to in the AUSVETPLANs.