Written by Nick Wagner, DVM
With biosecurity being at the forefront of a successful swine operation, disinfectants are necessary to neutralize and eliminate harmful infectious agents to maintain a healthy herd. Disinfectants destroy or irreversibly inactivate pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi on a surface based upon the labeled efficacy of the selected product. An effective disinfectant must come into direct contact with the pathogen of concern for inactivation to occur which mitigates the risk of disease transmission. Therefore, the removal of all organic and inorganic material prior to disinfection remains a critical step to optimizing the efficacy of disinfectants in eliminating infectious disease. The disinfection process must be designed to address all areas of potential contamination to include various surfaces, materials, and equipment for effective results. Let’s take a closer look at the important features of proper disinfectant selection and application.
The active ingredients within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered disinfectant products will typically fall into one of the following chemical classes. Quaternary ammonium compounds, phenolics, oxidizing compounds, aldehydes, alcohols, and acids. Each chemical class has general characteristics regarding efficacy, modes of action for inactivating pathogens, effectiveness in the presence of organic material and hard water, surface compatibility, surfactant properties, and safety. Select an EPA registered disinfectant that has efficacy claims against the pathogens of concern for the swine industry and the specific use application that meets your needs on its label. Common use application examples for spray or immersion would be hard, non-porous, surfaces of equipment, swine housing facilities, transport vehicles, and boots. Read, understand, and follow all directions for use on the EPA approved label to comply with all regulatory requirements. Ensure all safety warnings on the EPA approved label receive the proper attention necessary to protect personnel through the utilization of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Necessary PPE may include goggles, gloves, coveralls, and boots. Apply the disinfectant to all surfaces utilizing appropriately calibrated equipment to align with the dilution rate on the label to attain the proper chemical concentration. When a disinfectant label contains more than one dilution rate for a specific use application based on efficacy claims, it is important to utilize the product at the labeled rate that will provide effectiveness against the broadest range of pathogens of concern for your operation. The dilution rate determines the amount of chemical usage which has an impact on cost. The disinfectant must be applied to provide adequate coverage of all surfaces to achieve the required contact time listed on the EPA approved label for effective results. A 10-minute contact time is commonly observed on EPA approved labels for disinfection, but it can range from 1 minute to 30 minutes depending upon the specific use. The surfactant properties of a disinfectant formulation contribute to its foaming capability. The foaming capability of a product is important for contact time especially on vertical surfaces and for application coverage. The surface compatibility of a disinfectant is important for the longevity of equipment and facilities to prevent maintenance concerns. A water hardness of 400 ppm and an organic load of 5% are the typical conditions utilized for efficacy testing of disinfectant products registered with the EPA. Reviewing the disinfectant label to determine that the data for water hardness and organic load meets or exceeds these levels provides valuable information on the performance expectations of the product in these conditions on farm. Finally, with proper disinfectant selection and application, rotation is unnecessary as there is no scientific evidence that supports the development of resistance under field conditions as disinfectant chemistries are applied at rates well above minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and destroy pathogens by targeting multiple sites through multiple non-specific modes of action.
As the swine industry faces ever-evolving disease pressures, proper disinfectant selection and application are critical to the success of your biosecurity program. Dedicating the necessary attention and resources to your disinfection protocol will pay dividends in maintaining the health of your herd. Please contact Kersia, your trusted partner in biosecurity, for additional information and to discuss proven solutions that meet your individual needs.
