Biosecurity Doesn’t Cost, It Pays™

Stuart Heller
NEOGEN

Back in 1987 I was invited to address a group of production managers from the DeKalb Swine Breeders. The topic of the day was “Disease Prevention” and at the end of the meeting their lead veterinarian, Dr. Harry Moberly, strode to the front of the room to give his closing comments. He talked about prevention, not treatment as the key to maintaining high health status, and he finished with this: “It is the nature of man to find cure more compelling than prevention. But in the science of biology, prevention is your best measure against disease.” 

As a young man just entering the marketplace, this was a “wow” moment. So, when he was finished, I ran up to him and asked, “Doc, that last part was great, would you mind if I used it in my presentation?” He turned, smiled at me and said, “Stu, I stole that from someone else, so you go right ahead.” 

I have been giving presentations on biosecurity products and programs for over thirty years, and this is always Slide No. 1; “In the field of science, prevention is the best measure against disease.” The folks who solve the problems get all the publicity, while the folks who prevent the problem go unnoticed. But in SCIENCE, prevention trumps treatment.

Times Change…and We Adapt
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s “biosecurity” wasn’t even a word. Things like shower-in/ shower-out and comprehensive trailer biosecurity were the exceptions, not the rule. Today, the term “biosecurity,” (and all that it entails) is an essential part of any successful health and management program. Strict biosecurity is now the rule, not the exception.

PEDv…The Perfect Storm
There could be no more illustrative example of this than the industry’s approach to dealing with PEDv. This was the perfect storm. A novel coronavirus with no immunity in the swine population, extremely high mortality in baby pigs (high, like around 100%), large amounts of virus shed in small amounts of manure, and limited research or treatment options. This was a virus that would make producers take a closer look at their comprehensive biosecurity protocols. And what they found was that their protocols were not near comprehensive enough.

What Does Biosecurity Look Like Today?
As they have during my over three decades in the pork production industry, the veterinary community took the lead. They found answers to questions like; How does it infect pigs? How long does it last? How is it transmitted? And most importantly, how do we prevent its’ introduction? It was the vet community and their unified voice that helped the industry get control of this virus. Their Rx; Get serious about biosecurity!  

The basic premise was to create an invisible perimeter around the farm, a barrier that protects the farm from outside disease and assumes everything outside that barrier is a potential threat. These protocols have been in place for years, but to be honest, loosely enforced. Now, the mandate was simple; Nothing comes onto the farm without being decontaminated. No such thing as going too far. No detail too small. 

So, we added layers:

• HEPA Filtration to prevent aerosol transmission.
• Comprehensive and mandatory truck wash protocols.
• Use of detergents prior to disinfecting because ALL disinfectants perform better in a cleaner environment.
• Increased disinfection of loading docks at packing plant.
• Disinfection of loading chutes.
• Strict use of foot baths.
• Disinfection of truck tires and undercarriages.
• Tighter controls on personnel movement and farm visitation.
• Decontaminating incoming supplies via fogging procedures (Disinfecting and Downtime Rooms).
• Clean/Dirty lines upon entering the farms through things like shower-in/shower-out, “pass-thru” windows, and Danish Entry Systems.

So, did it work? Before I answer, let me make this observation. Biosecurity is an intangible. We don’t see disinfectants killing microorganisms. They’re called microorganisms for a reason…they’re really, really small. But if we follow the PEDv timeline, I believe we’ll find the answer.

• Spring of 2013: A month before the 2013 World Pork Expo, PEDv is first diagnosed in the U.S. It appears similar to TGE, except for the fact that the weather is heating up and TGE is typically associated with cold weather breaks. 
• Winter 2013: The veterinary and R&D communities are hard at work developing treatment options while a whole range of new, stricter biosecurity protocols have been implemented industry-wide. But, while the virus is still wreaking havoc, flying under the radar is the fact that PRRSv (and TGE) breaks that winter are significantly lower than in recent winters. Not believing in coincidences, I called Dr. Scott Dee of Pipestone Applied Research for his take. I asked; “Hypothetically, would it be reasonable for a person to assume that the decrease in PRRSv outbreaks this winter could be attributed to the increased layers of biosecurity being adopted?” His answer; “If they’re smart.” 
• Winter 2013-Present: With eight full years of enhanced biosecurity protocols and advances in research and understanding of the virus, PEDv has been controlled. Eradicated? No. Controlled? Yes!

And then there’s COVID
Here’s a little Déjà vu moment: A novel coronavirus, no immunity in the “herd.” No vaccine (initially). High mortality rates. Highly contagious. Sounds familiar, right? COVID created a whole new set of problems. This time it wasn’t the animals getting sick, it was the people. And if the people get sick, who cares for the pigs? Who feeds them, treats them, transports them, processes them? We saw (and are still feeling) the impact. 

With no vaccine during its’ early stages, how did we start getting it under control? Biosecurity! We concentrated on breaking the cycle of cross-contamination; limiting movement, hand sanitizing, disinfecting wipes, aerosol disinfectants, what we at NEOGEN call “people-focused biosecurity solutions.” This will become the new normal, the new “added layers” of biosecurity.  

The Take Home Message
Biosecurity doesn’t cost, it pays. It’s simple; Preventing disease reduces stress on pigs, reducing stress enhances health and performance, and enhanced health and performance improves the bottom line. The battle now is against human nature. As an industry, we’ve got to fight complacency, the inclination to relax a bit when things appear under control, to forget what happens when we lose focus. 

This battle is not new. It has raged since the beginning of time. And when I say “beginning of time,” I mean Old Testament Beginning of Time.