Tips on biosecurity

Biosecurity is an important pillar of the swine industry to prevent the introduction of infectious diseases. Even though many routes have been identified as potential sources of entry and counteractive practices have been implemented, research is performed continually to determine the most effective methods. It’s ultimately up to the pork community to ensure healthy herds – and here’s how that can be done: 

• Spray items with disinfectant manually. Although having a supply entry room with a fogger that applies chemical disinfectant to the items is more common and may seem ideal, studies have found that it could be missing up to 75% of surfaces. In some cases, doing this manually can be impractical, especially when dealing with large supply deliveries in a world running short of resources, but it’s a safer bet.
• Use time and temperature as a sanitation process. That’s not new, we know, but it’s a reliable and reasonable option for most supply entry situations, since most bacteria and viruses will be inactivated without chemical disinfection if given enough time. To achieve that, it’s recommended that objects be stored at room temperature (68°F) for seven days or at 160°F for 10 minutes. 
• Clean trucks thoroughly. An effective method for that is thermo-assisted drying and decontamination, which includes a heater with fans to move the hot air throughout the trailer to heat and dry it entirely. Unfortunately, sometimes standards can’t be achieved due to a lack of time or the necessary movement of animals – but if a trailer can’t be washed, it should at least be heated and dried. 
• Every supply door must have a lock to prevent entry into the room after new supplies have been added, and a data sheet to track the number of days since entry. That ensures the supplies have enough time to become decontaminated before being brought onto the farm.