GOOD PRACTICES FOR BIOSECURITY IN THE PIG SECTOR

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GOOD PRACTICES FOR BIOSECURITY IN THE PIG SECTOR

• WB/OIE/FAO guidelines

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Executive Summary

• zoonotic viruses prompting considerable
  international concern
• Nipah Virus, Avian influenza, and now pandemic
  H1N1
• There is impact on public safety, and commercial
  trade of livestock
• Prevention of the spread of disease something we
  can implement

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Biosecurity

• Biosecurity is the implementation of measures
  that reduce the risk of the introduction and
  spread of disease agents it requires the
  adoption of a set of attitudes and behaviors by
  people to reduce risk in all activities involving
  domestic, captive/exotic and wild animals and
  their products

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General Principles specific to pandemic H1N1

• Visitors who are allowed to have contact with
  swine should be limited to only people having
  essential business on the farm other meetings
  should be conducted off farm if possible
• Doors should be locked
• Signs should indicate visitors should not enter
  facilities

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General Principles specific to pandemic H1N1

• People clinically ill with influenza symptoms
  should not enter barns and contact pigs until
  they stop shedding the virus.
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests
  that the virus is shed up to 7 days from the
  onset of symptoms, and children may shed longer.

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General Principles specific to pandemic H1N1

• Swine workers and others with close contact with
  swine, should be considered for preventive
  measures such as protective clothing (e.g. mask),
  medications and influenza vaccination when
  available.

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General Principles specific to pandemic H1N1

• Encouragement of regular hand washing be
  implemented for farm workers and visitors.
• Hand washing opportunities should available and
  be practical they are suggested not only for
  influenza, but for all diseases that can spread
  between pigs and people

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General Principles specific to pandemic H1N1

• Vaccination of swine for classical H1N1 influenza
  is safe, but efficacy against the pandemic strain
  is not known.
• If it can be proven to reduce clinical signs and
  shedding, vaccination of herds for swine
  influenza may be of value
• however, it may complicate surveillance for
  herds wishing to stay serologically negative. The
  decision to vaccinate swine herds should be
  carefully discussed with the herd veterinarian
  before implementing it.

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The routes of Disease transmission

• Pigs
• Most frequently diseases move with infected pigs
• Do not move sick pigs
• but
• Pigs incubating the disease may not be clinically
  ill yet
• Recovered pigs may appear healthy but can spread
  disease

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Action points

• Inspect pigs before moving
• Use test to detect disease
• Antibody tests for previous exposure
• elisa
• Antigen for incubating disease
• PCR
• Quarantine incoming pigs

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The routes of disease transmission

• Semen
• Boar semen can be a source of pathogens,
  especially viruses. Several of the major
  pathogens (CSFv, PRRSv, ADv)
• Swine influenza virus replicates only the
  respiratory tract, it is not shed into semen, and
  accidental contamination of semen is thought not
  result in transmission through artificial
  insemination

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The routes of Disease transmission

• People
• It is clear that humans can transport the
  pathogens on boots, clothes, and hands.
• Entry decontamination protocols
• Hand wash (shower) change of clothes
• Farm workers must not own pigs at home
• Thieves are a problem, not just because they
  steal pigs or equipment, but also because they
  may not stop to read the biosecurity protocols
  first

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The routes of pathogen transmission

• feed including swill feeding, drinking water and
  bedding material
• Feed, bedding and water can all contribute to
  pathogen dissemination.
• seldom involved in a large-scale spread of
  epidemic diseases,
• Unpasteurized milk and milk by-products obtained
  from infected cattle (e.g. Tuberculosis,
  Brucellosis) can be a source of pathogens.
• Fresh pork is a documented risk factor of
  transmission for a number of pathogens, including
  Foot-and-Mouth-Disease virus, Classical Swine
  Fever virus, African swine fever virus, PRRS and
  other systemic viruses.
• the use of kitchen/restaurant swill feed and
  diverse by-products which can be obtained from
  slaughterhouses carries great disease risk.
• Influenza virus does not become viremic and thus
  is not spread through pork. It does not survive
  long outside the host so feed, water and
  bedding, are not thought to be a major source of
  transmission

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The routes of pathogen transmission

• Aerosol
• Pathogens can be transmitted by air, sometimes
  surprisingly long distances.
• The efficacy of airborne transmission strongly
  depends on geographical and climatic conditions.
• It also depends on virus load being emitted from
  the source herd, which is proportional its size
  and numbers animals present.
• The resistance of the pathogen to drying and
  sunlight determines its ability to spread through
  the air
• No evidence that pandemic H1N1 spreads by aerosol
  from herd to herd

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The routes of pathogen transmission

• Fomites (mechanical transmission)
• Vehicles, especially those used for transporting
  pigs, are also efficient vectors of pathogens and
  need due care.
• Birds, insects, rodents and other pest are known
  to transport pathogens
• Pandemic H1N1 doesnt survive long in environment
  
• Role of wild birds in transmission is unknown

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The importance of communication strategies

• In order to make meaningful change in rural
  communities, a well-designed communication plan
  is essential.
• The key to changing behaviors/practices lies in
  the level of perception of risk.
• Communication strategies need to build on the way
  people perceive their own situation
• Communication cannot be merely prescriptive it
  must outline risk and benefit

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The importance of communication strategies

• Public and private sector should work together to
  design and implement control and eradication
  programs. Mutual trust between public and private
  sector is essential.
• In cases where the disease has a zoonotic
  concern, pre-emptive discussions between public
  health agencies, agricultural departments and the
  pig industry should take place to ensure mutual
  understanding and cooperation in a public health
  emergency.