Abstract
According to European and national legislation, in case of avian influenza outbreak or epidemics, carcasses of dead and culled animals should be sent to rendering plants (Ministry of Health, 2014). Competent authorities can authorize burial procedures, if rendering plant cannot dispose on time a large and unexpected number of carcasses (Chowdhury et al., 2019). The burial site should be identified on a specific site study and chosen in a suitable environment (Costa et al., 2019), it must ensure geological stability for several years and the confinement of organic material lasting from a minimum of 2 up to 20 years, to ensure the complete degradation of the organic material and pathogens. The aim of the present study was to create a mapping project to identify suitable sites for the burial of large volumes of avian carcasses in case of avian influenza epidemics. The territory of Lazio Region was classified based on the following factors: presence/absence of environmental constraints and regulations that protect the environment and limit the land use (landscape constraints, protected areas, archaeological sites, drinking water springs), features affecting the susceptibility to pollution (water table depth, hydrogeological vulnerability, hydrographic network) and stability over time (landslides, floods). Official geodata from National and Regional cartography were used: geoportal of the Institute of Environment Research and Protection (Istituto Superiore per la Ricerca e la Protezione Ambientale - ISPRA), geoportal of the Ministry of the Environment (Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza energetica), geoportal of Lazio Region (Open Data Lazio), Lazio Region Environment Information System (Sistema Informativo Regionale Ambientale - Sira); geodata archive of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana (IZSLT). The output is an interactive map that allows to navigate and to choose which different layers apply among the existing 19 layers. The map is available through an ad hoc created website or the exchange of shapefiles/layers of proprietary or open-source geographic information systems. The intended users are regional authorities, Municipalities, veterinarians of Local Health Units, poultry breeders and other stakeholders. The map allows to identify areas not suitable for animal carcasses burial because subject to constraints or environmental risks. Areas identified as suitable should be further investigated at local level by core samples, soil inspections, existing land-use plans or other resulting constraints not present in this study. In conclusion, overlaying different geographic information levels identified potential areas of suitability for animal carcasses burial in case of infectious diseases epidemics. The use of suitability maps collaborates in preventing impacts on environment, health and animal/human interface.
References
Costa, T., & Akdeniz, N. (2019). A review of the animal disease outbreaks and biosecure animal mortality composting systems. Waste Management, 90, 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.04.047
Chowdhury, S., Kim, G. H., Bolan, N., & Longhurst, P. (2019). A critical review on risk evaluation and hazardous management in carcass burial. Process Safety and Environmental Protection 123, 272–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2019.01.019
Ministry of Health. (2014). Italian veterinary contingency plan (ver. 1.0). Direzione della Sanità Animale e dei Farmaci Veterinari Ufficio III. (https://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_pagineAree_1670_listaFile_itemName_0_file.pdf)