Biosecurity practices on intensive pig production systems in Chile

Chile eradicated classical swine fever (CSF) in April 1998, following a 17-year eradication programme. The authors describe biosecurity levels of pig farms in Chile after the eradication of CSF. A formal survey was administered to 50 large integrated pig farms, which represented almost 60% of the swine population. The main topics on the questionnaire were production, health management, biosecurity, insurance and information about CSF outbreaks in the past. Biosecurity practices were analysed according to the criteria stated by Barcelo and Marco in 1998, A scoring system to measure biosecurity was designed and pig farms were classified according to this score. An adjusted specific measure is discussed as a potential indicator of risk for disease infections. The authors explore associations between biosecurity herd size and insurance policy against CSF (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.