Biosecurity implementation in poultry farms across Europe and neighboring countries: a systematic review.

Introduction: Modern poultry production systems inherently concentrate large numbers of birds, which also increases the risk and potential impact of disease outbreaks. Biosecurity is widely recognized as the most important tool for reducing the risk of disease introduction, establishment, and spread to, within, and from an animal population. Thus, effective biosecurity is essential for sustainable poultry production, and assessing its implementation represents a crucial step. This systematic review aimed to evaluate biosecurity implementation in poultry farms across European and neighboring countries. Methods: The Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed to perform the systematic review. Results: Of the 1,515 articles retrieved from four databases, only 44 met the inclusion criteria and 16 provided usable data for assessing biosecurity implementation. Despite relatively broad geographical coverage, including eight multi-country studies involving 36 national assessments, the distribution of studies was uneven. Moreover, most studies (77%) were pathogen- or disease-specific (e.g., Discussion: The heterogeneity of results, driven by differences in study design, poultry species, production systems, and methodological approach, highlights the complexity of evaluating biosecurity across diverse national contexts. This variability may reflect differences in epidemiological conditions, research funding, and national priorities. Although this review focused solely on primary research studies, the findings underscore the need to promote cross-country collaboration to enhance knowledge sharing and data harmonization.