Maximising your defences against all pig diseases

The exotic disease threat has never been greater, with African swine fever (ASF) and, more recently, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), circulating in Europe while huge, worrying gaps remain in the UK’s border controls.

Recently, we have also seen rising cases of some key endemic diseases, notably swine dysentery. The harsh reality, according to industry experts, is that in many cases these outbreaks are entirely preventable.

While many businesses already practise excellent biosecurity, more still needs to be done to keep disease out at an industry and, often, individual level.

According to the Pig Veterinary Society, there are three fundamental principles of biosecurity that all producers and stockpeople should adhere to:

• Separate – can we prevent or reduce the contact between pigs and a contaminated animal, object or person? This doesn’t have to be a physical fence or wall – it could be preventing the crossover of feed delivery lorries with farm traffic, getting haulage to collect from the perimeter or visitors not bringing meat onto the unit.
• Clean – when we cannot segregate, cleaning must always occur before disinfection.
• Disinfect – the disinfectant should be Defra-approved and used at general orders concentration. Foot-dips and stock solutions should be refreshed regularly.

Once these principles are understood, they can be applied to almost any day-to-day situation, and it is important to involve everyone in the decisions and actions.

Any person, animal (including wildlife), vehicle or equipment has the potential to carry disease organisms onto a farm. Producers frequently overlook the fact staff are, in terms of biosecurity, ‘daily visitors’.

The farm gate is the last barrier. Animal movements are the riskiest in terms of spreading pathogens, but the spread of ASF and FMD has demonstrated the risk that other routes pose, including humans, vehicles and products of animal origin.

We also need to consider what leaves through your farm gate – the risk for onward spread should be minimised. The key message is: “Don’t rely on others to protect your unit.”

Here are some common areas producers should consider:

Pigs

• When sourcing pigs, know the health status of your herd and the pigs coming in.
• Check the health status of incoming stock and agree a suitable quarantine period in line with vaccination requirements.
• Keep records.
• Maintain a strict policy for pig contact and movement between units to limit cross-contamination.
• When loading pigs, farm staff should not enter the livestock trailer and, conversely, the haulage driver should not leave the loading ramp.
• Clean and disinfect the loading ramp after use.
• Organise the flow to keep groups separate and minimise contact with visitors.

Visitors and staff

• Keep visitors to a minimum. Do they need to enter the pig areas? Have a visitor policy and stick to it (you can say no!)
• All staff and visitors should be made aware of the risk they pose and what is expected of them to minimise that risk.
• Record everyone on and off the unit. All visitors must clearly sign the visitors’ book, including contractors, mechanics and pest controllers. In an outbreak, it is important that sources of infection and potential onward transmission routes can be easily and quickly identified.
• Area managers can be a high-risk factor, visiting multiple farms and often not signing the visitors’ book.
• Can you put in showers or create a Danish/barrier entrance? Make barriers where you want people to change PPE or stop. Add signs telling staff what you want them to do.
• Keep PPE well stocked where you need it. All staff should be provided (and must wear) outerwear and boots that are left on the farm.
• No farm staff should have contact with pigs or manure outside their employment.
• Staff should not bring any meat products onto the farm.
• Staff and visitors returning from overseas travel should notify the farm manager/owner before entering the farm.
• You could encourage staff to take short videos of their biosecurity practices to highlight poor and good practice and share in team meetings.

Vehicles and #MuckFreeTrucks

• Have a designated parking area outside the biosecure area. Keep it clean.
• Make sure your signs and gates stop vehicles at the right place. Is signage clear for anyone who has not visited before? Can they find the visitors’ car park, biosecurity point and delivery drop-point without entering the pig areas?
• Provide cleansing and disinfection materials for vehicles (including your own).
• Clean and disinfect vehicles between units.
• Check any delivery vehicles that come to the unit, including the cab, for cleanliness.
• #Muckfreetrucks are particularly important ahead of the summer show season.
• Have muck-karting, muckspreading and slurry-spreading contractors arrived with clean and disinfected equipment? Where have they been previously?
• Do not allow unnecessary vehicles on site. Prevent or minimise the crossover of farm machinery with visitor traffic. Could you take deliveries further away from the pigs? Could tyre fitters and mechanics work at the perimeter?
• Cleansing facilities at abattoirs must also be up to scratch.

Equipment

• Keep it clean.
• Limit sharing of equipment.
• Try colour-coding to ensure that movement of equipment between ages of pigs is visible.

Footpaths

• Put notices up – available from AHDB.
• Make people aware of the risk they pose.
• Check perimeter fencing regularly.
• You can apply to reroute footpaths.

Carcases

• Transfer carcases promptly to secure storage to prevent access by domestic or wild animals.
• The carcase bin collection point must be located outside the main perimeter.

Disease vectors

• Deter birds and wildlife and stop contact between wild/feral boar and farmed pigs.
• Keep on top of vermin control.
• Have a zero-pigmeat policy.
• Make sure all suppliers to your unit are aware of your biosecurity policies.

Significant Diseases Charter

• If you have a case of swine dysentery, it is your responsibility to report it to the Significant Diseases Charter, so other producers and the allied industry are aware of the risk. This is a Red Tractor requirement.