Evaluating the Global Distribution and Characteristics of Research Studies Focusing on Swine Farm Biosecurity: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Despite significant advances in swine biosecurity (BS) over the last decade, BS plans have yet to be broadly adopted on swine farms. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScRs) framework was followed to review the literature, describe the worldwide distribution of publications on swine farm BS, and characterize the research methodologies used. The final data extraction and analysis included 157 publications originating from 48 countries. Several publications (n = 93) used face-to-face interviews for data collection. An increase in the adoption of online and multimode approaches was detected after 2009. Many publications (n = 92) focussed on the impact of BS on the incidence of swine diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and African swine fever (ASF). Only 16 studies reported proposing incentives for study participation. Regions with high publication numbers were detected in Western and Southern Europe, Northeast of South America, and East Africa. Areas with low publication numbers were in Eastern Europe, North and Central Africa, Central America, and the Northwest of South America. This study identified the most common study methodologies used to assess swine farm BS. Countries with limited swine BS research studies were identified where future investigations are needed.