Characterization of backyard poultry production systems and disease risk in the central zone of Chile C. Hamilton-West a,⇑ , H. Rojas b , J. Pinto c , J. Orozco a , L.P. Hervé-Claude d , S. Urcelay a a Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile b CERES, Biosecurity and Food Quality Services, Santiago, Chile c Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases/Global Early Warning and Response System for Major Animal Diseases, Including Zoonoses (EMPRES/GLEWS), Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy d Department of Biometry, Epidemiology and Information Processing, WHO-Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany article info Article history: Received 12 July 2010 Accepted 11 June 2011 Keywords: Backyard production Poultry Disease risk Biosecurity Avian Influenza Newcastle disease abstract Backyard poultry production systems (BPS) are an important and widespread form of poultry production. There is a common perception that biosecurity standards in BPS are generally poor and BPS are usually associated with animal diseases and zoonoses. In this study BPS were identified in the vicinity of six wet- lands, having these a higher risk of presenting and introducing avian diseases such as HPAI and Newcastle disease, as defined by the national veterinary services, in to Chile’s main poultry production area. BPS were characterized through a field questionnaire and the main areas covered by the survey were BPS structure, biosecurity and value chain. The BPS identified in this study share most characteristics on biosecurity, poultry management and product commercialization, but it was possible to identify a certain degree of variation within and among the study sites. BPS in Chile are similar to those in other regions, with a relatively small flock size (average 37 birds), a low level of biosecurity measures and lack of poul- try disease management. Management findings include that most farmers used mixed/partial confine- ment, with low or no biosecurity and disease control measures in place. Eggs were the main output and were used mainly for home consumption or sale at local markets. Sick birds’ treatment with drugs approved for other species or for human use could represent a risk to human health, owing to the possible presence of drug residues in poultry products. Despite the different structures of the poultry sector worldwide, BPS can play a major role in disease maintenance and spread because its management conditions characteristics and the lack of animal health services adapted to these production systems. This should be an alert message to the veterinary author- ities to improve coverage of veterinary assistance and surveillance activities in backyard poultry production. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Backyard poultry production is the most widespread form of poultry keeping in the world (FAO-OIE-WorldBank, 2008), being an important component of small farmers’ livelihoods and a tool for poverty alleviation (Dolberg, 2007; Sonaiya, 2007). Birds are kept in a low input/low output system, with the available scavenging feed base supplemented with food scraps and grains. Birds and their by-products are usually consumed by their owners, sold locally and used as gifts (FAO, 2005; FAO-OIE-WorldBank, 2008). The issues described represent favorable conditions that make BPS more susceptible to receiving and spreading infectious diseases such as HPAI and Newcastle disease (FAO-OIE-WorldBank, 2008), since they represent the interface where interaction be- tween domestic backyard birds and wild birds occurs (Henning et al., in press). Furthermore, the majority of backyard poultry households do not apply basic hygiene and biosecurity measures, with a potential risk posed by animal diseases to humans. Sick birds may be handled, sold, slaughtered and consumed without considering that the infections that made the chicken sick may also potentially be harmful to man (Iqbal, 2009). The Chilean poultry sector had improved its production and stan- dards by the early 1990s, covering all internal demand and including exports of poultry products (APA-ASOHUEVO, 2006). This develop- ment relies on Chilean sanitary situation, where major avian diseases are absent. The last outbreak of a major avian disease in Chile occurred in 2002, when H7N3 HPAI affected two poultry farms in Valparaiso region. This event was successfully eradicated by the 0034-5288/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.06.015 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Av. Santa Rosa 11735, La Pintana, Chile. Tel.: +56 2 978 5578; fax: +56 2 978 5659. E-mail address: christopher.hamilton@veterinaria.uchile.cl (C. Hamilton-West). Research in Veterinary Science 93 (2012) 121–124 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Veterinary Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rvsc