(Bahir Dar, Ethiopia – January 15, 2026) - Bahir Dar University’s School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM-BDU) welcomed Professor Jeroen Dewulf from Ghent University, Belgium, for a dynamic webinar on “Biosecurity in Animal Production: Principles, Measurement Methods, and Effects.” A world-renowned veterinary epidemiologist, Prof. Jeroen leads the innovative Biocheck.UGent, a spin-off company entirely dedicated to developing and validating a scientific risk-based and independent scoring system to evaluate the quality of your on-farm biosecurity, and coordinates the EU’s BIOSECURE project, making his insights invaluable for advancing livestock health worldwide.

Moderated by Dr. Yeshwas Ferede, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, the webinar highlighted the critical role of biosecurity in Ethiopia’s rapidly evolving livestock production systems, where infectious disease risks and resource constraints remain significant. 
 

Prof. Jeroen illustrated how prevention acts as the primary driver for farm success and a core pillar for sustainable agricultural growth and national food security. The session provided an in-depth exploration of the fundamental principles of biosecurity and their direct impact on the sector, establishing a clear link between biosecurity, animal health, and production efficiency

A significant portion of the session was dedicated to the quantitative and qualitative analysis of antimicrobial usage in relation to biosecurity. Prof. Jeroen demonstrated how improved hygiene protocols and evidence-based risk assessments can significantly reduce the dependency on medical interventions. Furthermore, the Professor introduced various research articles and a specialized quantitative tool to measure biosecurity levels accurately, providing the staff with evidence-based methods to audit and improve farm standards.

The event attracted strong participation from SVM-BDU academic staff, practicing veterinarians, and international scholars. Interactive discussions centered on practical biosecurity interventions and pathways for integrating evidence-based biosecurity practices into veterinary education, advisory services, and farm management. 

To assure the development of a biosecurity-informed generation of professionals, the School of Veterinary Medicine at Bahir Dar University emphasized the need to give biosecurity substantial attention within both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, including its incorporation as a dedicated chapter in relevant courses. Furthermore, recognizing its broad applicability, SVM–BDU reaffirmed its commitment to adopting the Biocheck.UGent risk-based biosecurity assessment protocol in future academic and research activities, in collaboration with Biocheck.UGent experts.

Prof. Jeroen expressed a clear interest in supporting future initiatives at SVM-BDU, signaling the beginning of a promising long-term collaboration between Bahir Dar University and Ghent University in veterinary research, capacity building, and community outreach. He emphasized his enthusiasm for contributing to joint teaching activities and research projects.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Yeshwas Ferede underlined the significance of the event for the School’s strategic direction. “This participation reflects our strong commitment to strengthening academic and research capacity,” he noted. “We are excited to leverage Prof. Jeroen’s expertise to advance biosecurity-focused education and outreach at our university.”

The webinar concluded with an inspiring commitment to long-term partnership. Prof. Jeroen expressed his enthusiastic support for future teaching and research collaborations with SVM-BDU.

By: Dr. Dagmawi Yitbarek, SVM Website Administrator