Keeping disease out of the farm (III)

John Gadd Topic: Pig Management

I touched on this subject in part II, earlier this year, but I felt that it was so important that a complete column was needed about disease transmission by vehicles. I started writing about this aspect of disease transmission, having been closely involved in the ‘clear-up’ procedures during the disastrous Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) virus outbreak in Britain 15 or more years ago.

What disturbed me then and later was the casual way virtually all delivery vehicles were sanitised.

All this disturbing experience encouraged me to think hard about cleaning lorries and especially animal transporters, and I published a list of protective measures 12 years ago. Then again, how the correct cleaning of animal transporters fits into a complete farm biosecurity protocol. Some of these more common sense precautions have been written into the literature, but other more draconian ones, see below, are but slowly being adopted including some of the documentation/records I advised in 2003.

Prevention of disease transmission

These are in addition to those propounded so far and which I outlined last time. My forecast (as long ago as 2003) of some degree of legislative enforcement being needed is still not in force. I’m not for more legislation than is absolutely necessary, but the prevention of disease transmission is so important to maintaining profit. I believe this is more important than many recent legislative edicts imposed by the ‘know better’ bureaucrats.

I will therefore dare to make another forecast. When PEDv really strikes Europe, our legislators will sit up with a start to the following requirements…

All this is what we shall see in future!