Avoiding Biosecurity Complacency

Biosecurity practices can feel tedious. If they don't, then you are not doing them right.

Biosecurity is a large factor that plays into the overall health and profitability of a swine operation. It is important to understand where biosecurity plan gaps are to help better understand an operation’s overall risk to a disease outbreak. Once gaps are found and the impact determined — monetary and otherwise — a plan of action can be created. “You have to have the right mindset or culture,” says Dr. Pat Hoffmann, DVM and Elanco Technical Consultant. He notes that biosecurity practices can feel tedious, but if they don’t, then you are not doing them right — and there will likely be negative consequences.

We’re not spending the time to learn the most frequent ways that these viruses or other pathogens are getting introduced into farms. Dr. Derald Holtkamp DVM, MS, Iowa State University Professor

Dr. Derald Holtkamp, DVM, MS and Iowa State University Professor of Swine Production Medicine, outlines approaching biosecurity through hazard analysis, often done as outbreak investigations. He explains, “We're looking at the normal everyday activities that happen on these farms; things like entry of semen, entry of gilts, entry of employees and removal of culled sows. We want to look at the who, what, when, where and how those things are done.” Through investigating these processes, he is looking for where any of three failures could occur:

1. Contamination of carrying agents
2. Failure to mitigate
3. Transfer of virus from carrying agent to pigs in the herd

1. Contamination of carrying agents

Carrying agents can be anything that carries the virus into the herd due to infection or contamination. Dr. Holtkamp notes that we have little knowledge or control of what employees do when they are away from the farm, therefore employee training and compliance is very important as this can greatly reduce the number of pathogens that enter or exit a farm. Employee entry is one of the most frequent risk events on an operation, however, visiting finishing barns, feed trucks and transporting pigs to and from other farms causes a bigger threat. He believes that with proper training and compliance, farms can reduce the risk of biosecurity breaches through employees. "Viruses don't have legs, they don't have wings, they don't have fins, they don't move on their own, so they have to be carried by something," concludes Dr. Holtkamp.

Dr. Holtkamp explains the importance of biosecurity practices and why you should have a plan in place on any swine operation.

RISK EVENTS THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A PRRS OUTBREAK

2. Failure to mitigate

Mitigation is achieved with the combination of protocols that prevent a new pathogen from being introduced to the herd.² While disease introduction risk can never be fully eliminated, Holtkamp encourages farms and employees to always understand the risk and have a plan of action. He recommends identifying critical points in the transmission chain as one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. Having layers to a farm’s biosecurity plan can help prevent and slow the spread of disease in the herd.

The swiss cheese model is the idea that every slice of swiss cheese essentially is like a layer of biosecurity. So if you have a single slice of swiss cheese that has holes in it, then things are going to get through. But if you put enough of these slices of cheese together, you end up with a solid block. Dr. Derald Holtkamp DVM, Iowa State University Professor

3. Transfer of virus from carrying agent to pigs in the herd

Using appropriate practices at the start of the virus can help prevent the spread of the disease or further issues. With the extremely contagious nature of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), Escherichia coli and many more, it’s much easier to control those diseases upfront, rather than wait for them to spread. Holtkamp notes that one way to do so is by practicing biocontainment. Biocontainment protocols are to prevent escape of disease agents to neighboring pig populations. These protocols are not going to benefit the impacted herd, but they could potentially benefit neighboring herds or other herds in the same system. Dr. Holtkamp says, “There are a lot of opportunities, especially with employees, where we can think in terms of how we avoid having these employees walk the virus off the farm and potentially contaminate other sow farms in our system or neighboring sow farms as well.”

INFECTION OCCURRENCE

Biosecurity in the face of PRRS

PRRS is one of the swine industry’s most pressing disease challenges. For years, it has aected about 20% to 40% of swine herds annually.¹ One of the biggest disease management challenges with PRRS is that it can be an extremely contagious, durable virus. The PRRS virus is constantly mutating, causing inconsistent immunity. “Typically, seasonality for PRRS has been fairly predictable. All that has changed in the last few years. PRRS is now a year-round concern,” states Dr. Eric Christianson, DVM and Elanco Technical Consultant, about the threat of the PRRS virus. “Additionally, PRRS can have a negative impact on a pig’s immunity allowing other diseases, such as Mycoplasma and flu, to become a threat to the pig’s health.”

If you’re in a hog-dense area with poor biosecurity and you’ve got PRRS in the area, it’s a ticking time bomb. You’re just much more likely of breaking with PRRS if you have poor biosecurity. Dr. Eric Christianson DVM, Elanco Technical Consultant

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

The labels contain complete use information, including cautions and warnings. Always read, understand, and follow the label and use directions.

For complete safety information, including boxed human warning for Pulmotil AC.see link .

Before using this product, it is important to read the entire product insert, including the boxed human warning.

WARNING: Exposure to tilmicosin in humans has been associated with chest pain, increased heart rate, dizziness, headache, and nausea. Death has been reported following ingestion or injection of tilmicosin. Avoid direct skin and eye contact. In case of human exposure, call 1-800-722-0987, and consult a physician immediately.

Wear overalls, impervious gloves and eye protection when mixing and handling the product. Wash hands after handling the product. Wash affected parts if skin contact occurs. If accidental eye contact occurs, immediately rinse thoroughly with water.

Caution: Pulmotil AC is to be used by, or on the order of, a licensed veterinarian.

For use only in swine. Not for injection. Injection of tilmicosin has been shown to be fatal in swine and non-human primates, and may be fatal in horses and goats. Swine intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 7 days of treatment. Always treat the fewest number of animals necessary to control a respiratory disease outbreak. Prescriptions shall not be refilled.

Concurrent use of Pulmotil AC and another macrolide by any route, or use of another macrolide immediately following this use of Pulmotil AC is not advised.

Ensure that pigs have continuous access to medicated water during the treatment period. Monitor pigs for signs of water refusal and dehydration while being treated.

There is consensus in the industry that preventing PRRS outbreaks is key, but that doesn’t make biosecurity defense against PRRS simple. “I think the complicated part of biosecurity as we continue to learn more and more is that it’s multifaceted,” Dr. Christianson adds. He outlines some key areas that need to have proper processes to help reduce outbreak risk:

1. Breeding stock
Dr. Christianson recommends that when farms are trying to prevent a PRRS outbreak they should look at breeding stock first. If there are new replacement gilts coming into the herd, there is potential for disease entry. “When bringing new breeding stock in, it’s best to isolate them until it's known if they are healthy or infected. After testing and observation have been conducted, it is then safe to let them enter the herd.”

2. Market hog trucks
With hogs entering and exiting the farm on trucks, it is important to manage this process. Avoiding reentry is critical once pigs go out to the truck. If the driver is involved in loading or handling, it is beneficial to inform them of biosecurity practices in advance.

3. Manure pumping
Ensuring the cleanliness of all truck traffic, even the driver — as manure handling is often done on multiple farms in an area — is an important and sometimes overlooked step, according to Dr. Christianson. Getting the equipment completely clean can be a challenge, but even small measures can greatly reduce the risk of disease entry.

4. Rendering trucks
Again, equipment is always a potential disease entry point. Moving deads can open potential disease transfer risks. Dr. Christianson suggests taking hogs to the rendering box at the end of the day to prevent having to go back into a healthy barn afterwards. Managing traffic to and from the area is also key to managing disease spread.

5. Pest management
There is evidence that pests can harbor and traffic contagious viruses.⁴ Maintaining barns in a manner to reduce pests is one management recommendation. Having at least a two feet vegetation-free barrier around the outside of barns, mowing often and keeping grass short can help keep the pest habitat at a minimum.

Most of us have been in barns where feed spills were not cleaned up in a timely manner, so working in the barns almost becomes unbearable due to the flies. Insects biting pigs can lead to infections of the skin, which is the largest organ of the body and our first line of defense. Dr. Pat Homann DVM, Elanco Technical Consultant

“Utilizing pest control products should be part of a documented control plan,” Dr. Hoffmann adds. “Hold people accountable and have the information ready for Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) and other industry audits. Make sure you maintain external and internal bait stations, as well as bird netting.”

Pest management plans should be year-round, with seasonal considerations. For example, mice tend to try to get inside more during the cold winter months and flies are significantly more prevalent in the summer months. It is also important to rotate product chemical classes.

“There are really good fly control products on the market, which will not only benefit pig health, but I’ve also found that it improves the barn environment, not only for the pigs, but for your team in the barn,” Dr. Hoffmann concludes.

6. People, people, people
Employee training and compliance is a large part of biosecurity. Understanding how and where employees move during the day can reduce the spread of disease. Creating a detailed employee schedule can direct that they only enter areas of potential disease at the end of a day or right before showering.

“It’s got to be kind of a culture thing, you’ve got to be diligent year-round,” Dr. Christianson advises. “You’ve got to really work to avoid complacency. People have been doing these processes for a long time, and they’ve been staying negative and not having breaks. Do we let our guard down and become more complacent? You’ve got to continually audit, audit, and audit and look for compliance.”

Managing PRRS in your barns

Biosecurity best practices: Mitigate risk and maintain healthy animals

These DVMs agreed that to prevent a biosecurity breach, it is critical to establish preventative measures, have well-communicated protocols and consistently assess your risks. By targeting areas of vulnerability, you can lessen the impact of diseases and protect against possible adjacencies. Likewise, maintaining healthy pigs is important in the face of disease pressures. Stress events, such as weaning, can cause the immune system to become weak and exposed for pathogen entry. Elanco’s Full Value portfolio supports producers in maintaining healthy animals.

Learn more at elanco.us.

Pulmotil AC Label

For Pulmotil AC: Before using this product it is important to read the entire product insert, including the boxed human warning.

• Wear overall, impervious gloves and eye protection when mixing and handling the product. Wash hands after handling the product.
• Wash affected parts if skin contact occurs. If accidental eye contact occurs, immediately rinse thoroughly with water.
• Caution: Pulmotil AC is to be used by, or on the order of, a licensed veterinarian.
• For use only in swine. Not for injection. Injection of tilmicosin has been shown to be fatal in swine and non-human primates, and may be fatal in horses and goats.
• Swine intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 7 days of treatment.
• Always treat the fewest number of animals necessary to control a respiratory disease outbreak. Prescriptions shall not be refilled.
• Concurrent use of Pulmotil AC and another macrolide by any route, or use of another macrolide immediately following this use of Pulmotil AC is not advised.
• Ensure that pigs have continuous access to medicated water during the treatment period. Monitor pigs for signs of water refusal and dehydration while being treated.

¹The Pig Site. Lessons learned from PRRS outbreak investigations. Available at: https:// www. thepigsite .com/news/2017/11/lessons-learned-from-prrs-outbreak-investigations-1. Accessed June 21, 2021.
²National Hog Farmer. Biosecurity at your hands: Measure risks to control losses. Available at: https:// www. nationalhogfarmer .com/animal-health/biosecurity-your-hands-measure-risks-control-losses. Accessed June 21, 2021.
³Pig Health Today. Solve biosecurity overload by focusing on the basics. Available at: https:// pighealthtoday .com/mobile/article/?id=5835. Accessed June 21, 2021.
⁴Pig Health Today. Insect Control on Pig Farms. Available at: https:// www. thepigsite .com/articles/insect-control-on-pig-farms. Accessed June 23, 2021.
⁵Rossow, K.D. 1998. South Dakota State University. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. The American College of Veterinary Pathologists 35: 1-20.
⁶Blais, J. 1994. Intracellular accumulation of tilmicosin in primary swine alveolar macrophages. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The labels contain complete use information, including cautions and warnings. Always read, understand and follow the label and use directions.

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