Biosecurity
Abstract
Biosecurity is a word coined to describe the concept where pathogens' access to a farm is restricted, controlled, reduced or eliminated. It must be remembered that biosecurity is not disease control or health management, it targets pathogen movement and numbers. ‘Disease’ is a description of a clinical syndrome, for example dysentery is the correct term for any pig with blood in the faeces and may not have anything to do with the pathogen Brachyspira hyodysenteriae. The absence of the B. hyodysenteriae organism will reduce the risk of a pig dying from dysentery, but mortality and production on poorly managed farms could be worse on ‘swine dysentery negative’ farms than on well managed farms where B. hyodysenteriae is rife.
To organise biosecurity, a series of standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be written by the whole farm team. Writing these SOPs requires the farm health team to understand the epidemiological behavior of each relevant pathogen, for example:
While this paper uses the pig to illustrate the principles, biosecurity enhancement will benefit any livestock enterprise. Biosecurity principles are applicable to all sizes of farming operation.
External biosecurity includes:
Once written the SOPs must be instigated and enforced. This is a major role for the farm's veterinary surgeons.
The owners of the farm, in the authors' experience, are often the weakest link, with respect to enforcing SOPs. They often believe that the SOPs they have agreed to do not apply to them and they enjoy diplomatic immunity from the inconvenience of following the rules. The veterinarian is there to speak for the pigs and must make their comments heard above the protestations of the owners/bosses.
There are a number of major risks — these include:
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