scholarly journals 305 Awardee Talk: Transferring a culture of biosecurity to the feedmill

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 42-42
Author(s):  
Jason C Woodworth ◽  
Jordan T Gebhardt ◽  
Cassandra K Jones ◽  
Chad B Paulk ◽  
S S Dritz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Abstract A culture of on-farm biosecurity has been established and practiced by modern swine production systems for many years. The value of this has been repeatedly demonstrated through improved animal health and performance based on the prevention of disease introduction to the herd. With the introduction of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) to the US swine industry in 2013, we have learned that feed and feed ingredients can be vectors of disease transmission. Therefore, there is a heightened need to transfer our on-farm biosecurity culture to our feedmills and entire feed supply chain as a way to help prevent disease introduction into swine farms. Feedmills are designed to efficiently and effectively blend feed components into a homogenous batch, and the potential to distribute contaminated feed to multiple farms is significant. While feed and ingredients can be vectors of disease and pathogen transmission, our data continues to show that people are a major risk for pathogen transmission throughout the feed supply chain. Key biosecurity principles such as exclusion, prevention, isolation, mitigation, disinfection, and containment should be adopted and enforced for a strong feedmill biosecurity program. A written feedmill biosecurity plan should be developed and a training program that covers all employees as well as visitors and delivery drivers should be implemented. Continuous risk assessment and environmental monitoring should be utilized to identify new areas of risk and to assess the current status. Unfortunately, feedmills are nearly impossible to completely disinfect and therefore every effort should be made to prevent the introduction of pathogens into the mill. Research that we have conducted with PEDV and African Swine Fever Virus has demonstrated that adopting a culture of biosecurity at the feedmill will reduce risk of disease and pathogen exposure on farms.

scholarly journals A Simple Method for Sample Preparation to Facilitate Efficient Whole-Genome Sequencing of African Swine Fever Virus

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc Olasz ◽  
István Mészáros ◽  
Szilvia Marton ◽  
Győző L. Kaján ◽  
Vivien Tamás ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Fever Virus ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Viral Dna ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Generation Sequencing

In the recent years, African swine fever has become the biggest animal health threat to the swine industry. To facilitate quick genetic analysis of its causative agent, the African swine fever virus (ASFV), we developed a simple and efficient method for next generation sequencing of the viral DNA. Execution of the protocol does not demand complicated virus purification steps, enrichment of the virus by ultracentrifugation or of the viral DNA by ASFV-specific PCRs, and minimizes the use of Sanger sequencing. Efficient DNA-se treatment, monitoring of sample preparation by qPCR, and whole genome amplification are the key elements of the method. Through detailed description of sequencing of the first Hungarian ASFV isolate (ASFV_HU_2018), we specify the sensitive steps and supply key reference numbers to assist reproducibility and to facilitate the successful use of the method for other ASFV researchers.

scholarly journals On-farm biosecurity in livestock production: farmer behaviour, cultural identities and practices of care

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Maye ◽  
Kin Wing (Ray) Chan
Keyword(s):  
Science Studies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Agricultural Commodity ◽  
Farmer Behaviour ◽  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
Farming Industry ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Psychosocial Models ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Definitions of biosecurity typically include generalised statements about how biosecurity risks on farms should be managed and contained. However, in reality, on-farm biosecurity practices are uneven and transfer differently between social groups, geographical scales and agricultural commodity chains. This paper reviews social science studies that examine on-farm biosecurity for animal health. We first review behavioural and psychosocial models of individual farmer behaviour/decisions. Behavioural approaches are prominent in biosecurity policy but have limitations because of a focus on individual farmer behaviour and intentions. We then review geographical and rural sociological work that emphasises social and cultural structures, contexts and norms that guide disease behaviour. Socio-cultural approaches have the capacity to extend the more commonly applied behavioural approaches and contribute to the better formulation of biosecurity policy and on-farm practice. This includes strengthening our understanding of ‘good farming' identity, tacit knowledge, farmer influence networks, and reformulating biosecurity as localised practices of care. Recognising on-farm biosecurity as practices of biosecure farming care offers a new way of engaging, motivating and encouraging farmers to manage and contain diseases on farm. This is critical given government intentions to devolve biosecurity governance to the farming industry.

scholarly journals Ovine Paratuberculosis Control in Australia Revisited

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623
Author(s):  
Peter Windsor ◽  
Richard Whittington
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Extension Programs ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Attitudinal Differences ◽  
Human Food Chain ◽  
Australian Sheep ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

OJD is no longer the serious animal health issue that it was for many Australian rural communities a decade and a half ago. Despite declining OJD prevalence as determined by abattoir surveillance, the disease continues to spread, with OJD extension programs required to continually address the misinformation promulgated by some disaffected producers as new areas have become affected. Improved regional and on-farm biosecurity, including the introduction of a risk-based trading system, may have contributed to improved attitudes to OJD control, although attitudinal differences between OJD endemic areas and where the disease is not well established remain. Declines in on-farm OJD prevalence are almost certainly attributable to the widespread uptake of vaccination programs, although encouraging the ongoing use of vaccination to prevent recrudescence and improved biosecurity when mortalities disappear, remains challenging. Vaccination has provided a robust strategy for managing OJD and contributed significantly to the health of Australian sheep and the lives of producers with affected properties. As vaccination offers a pathway to reduce the risk of MAP infection entering the human food chain from small ruminant products, it should be more widely adopted globally, accompanied by research efforts to improve efficacy and importantly, the safety of vaccination to both operators and livestock.

scholarly journals The Current Status of the Alternative Use to Antibiotics in Poultry Production: An African Perspective

Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letlhogonolo Andrew Selaledi ◽  
Zahra Mohammed Hassan ◽  
Tlou Grace Manyelo ◽  
Monnye Mabelebele
Keyword(s):  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Poultry Production ◽  
Antibiotic Drugs ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
Policy Direction ◽  
Sanitary Conditions ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Over the years the growth and health of food-producing animals have been enhanced by the use of antibiotics. These have helped reduce on-farm mortalities, lower incidences of diseases and more importantly improve productivity. Generally, the utilization of antibiotics in feed has been reevaluated since bacterial pathogens have established and shared a variety of antibiotic resistance mechanisms that can easily be spread within microbial communities. Multiple countries have introduced bans or severe restrictions on the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics. This has therefore warranted the urgent need for alternatives. Africa is facing its own challenges as it has been reported to be one of the continents with the highest number of foodborne diseases with approximately 91 million related diseases and 137,000 death per annum. Stakeholder and policy direction has been put in place to curb this escalation; however, the problem persists. The use of alternatives has been recommended and some successfully used in other countries as well as Africa, including pro- and prebiotics and phytochemicals. This then leads to the core aim of this review which is to (1) determine the extent to which antimicrobial-resistant pathogens have affected Africa, (2) assess the current measures put in place by Africa to reduces antimicrobial resistance and finally (3) explore the alternative use of antibiotics in poultry production. Improved sanitary conditions and farm biosecurity are important alternatives that could be adopted by farmers instead of depending on antibiotic drugs for disease control and prevention.

scholarly journals A review of strategies to impact swine feed biosecurity

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savannah C. Stewart ◽  
Steve S. Dritz ◽  
Jason C. Woodworth ◽  
Chad Paulk ◽  
Cassandra K. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Chemical Additives ◽  
Feed System ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
Feed Manufacturing ◽  
Swine Feed

AbstractGlobal pork production has largely adopted on-farm biosecurity to minimize vectors of disease transmission and protect swine health. Feed and ingredients were not originally thought to be substantial vectors, but recent incidents have demonstrated their ability to harbor disease. The objective of this paper is to review the potential role of swine feed as a disease vector and describe biosecurity measures that have been evaluated as a way of maintaining swine health. Recent research has demonstrated that viruses such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and African Swine Fever Virus can survive conditions of transboundary shipment in soybean meal, lysine, and complete feed, and contaminated feed can cause animal illness. Recent research has focused on potential methods of preventing feed-based pathogens from infecting pigs, including prevention of entry to the feed system, mitigation by thermal processing, or decontamination by chemical additives. Strategies have been designed to understand the spread of pathogens throughout the feed manufacturing environment, including potential batch-to-batch carryover, thus reducing transmission risk. In summary, the focus on feed biosecurity in recent years is warranted, but additional research is needed to further understand the risk and identify cost-effective approaches to maintain feed biosecurity as a way of protecting swine health.

scholarly journals A study on the Porcine Respiratory Disease Syndrome (PRDC): Update review and proposed measures for its control.

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
A. D. GEORGAKIS (Α.Δ. ΓΕΩΡΓΑΚΗΣ) ◽  
E. BOURTZI-HATZOPOULOU (Ε. ΜΠΟΥΡΤΖΗ-ΧΑΤΖΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ) ◽  
S. K. KRITAS (Σ. Κ. ΚΡΗΤΑΣ) ◽  
G. C. BALKAMOS (Γ.Κ. ΜΠΑΛΚΑΜΟΣ) ◽  
S. C. KYRIAKIS (Σ.K. ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗΣ)
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Epidemiological Features ◽  
Efficient Control ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Porcine Respiratory

Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) represents the major cause of economic loss for swine industry worldwide. It is a multifactorial syndrome with a wide variety in epidemiological features and clinical sings from farm to farm, depending on the prevalence of the responsible pathogens, the environmental conditions and the efficacy of the on-farm veterinary management. As a result, the identification of the pathogens involved is difficult to be established, along with the difficulty in applying an efficient control programme. Moreover, PRDC, is considered to be the most important cause of the extended use of antimicrobials in modern pig industry. Its control is based on the principles of the veterinary management applied from farm to farm, including the most appropriate hygienic, vaccination and metaphylaxis programmes. In this study, a review of the syndrome is presented (aetiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis) along with a short reference to its current status in Greece. Finally, essential measures for the greek pig industry and public health are suggested.

scholarly journals Genotyping of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) Isolates in Romania with the First Report of Genotype II in Symptomatic Pigs

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Andrei Ungur ◽  
Cristina Daniela Cazan ◽  
Luciana Cătălina Panait ◽  
Marian Taulescu ◽  
Oana Maria Balmoș ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
African Swine Fever ◽  
Fever Virus ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
First Report ◽  
The World ◽  
First Time ◽  
Genotype Ii

The World Organisation for Animal Health has listed African swine fever as the most important deadly disease in domestic swine around the world. The virus was recently brought from South-East Africa to Georgia in 2007, and it has since expanded to Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia, having a devastating impact on the global swine industry and economy. In this study, we report for the first time the molecular characterization of nine African swine fever virus (ASFV) isolates obtained from domestic pigs in Mureş County, Romania. All nine Romanian samples clustered within p72 genotype II and showed 100% identity with all compared isolates from Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland. This is the first report of ASFV genotype II in the country.

scholarly journals 307 A systems approach to understanding biosecurity decision-making

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 43-43
Author(s):  
Scott C Merrill ◽  
Christopher Koliba ◽  
Gabriela Bucini ◽  
Eric Clark ◽  
Luke Trinity ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Livestock Industry ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
Operational Level

Abstract Disease and its consequences result in social and economic impacts to the US animal livestock industry, ranging from losses in human capital to economic costs in excess of a billion dollars annually. Impacts would dramatically escalate if a devastating disease like Foot and Mouth Disease or African Swine Fever virus were to emerge in the United States. Investing in preventative biosecurity can reduce the likelihood of disease incursions and their negative impact on our livestock industry, yet uncertainty persists with regards to developing an effective biosecurity structure and culture. Here we show the implications of human behavior and decision making for biosecurity effectiveness, from the operational level to the owner/managerial level and finally to the systems level. For example, adjustments to risk messaging strategies could double worker compliance with biosecurity practices at the operational level. The improvement of our risk communication strategy may increase willingness to invest in biosecurity. Furthermore, the adaptation of policies could nudge behavior so that we observe a short disease outbreak followed by a quick eradication instead of a pandemic. Our research shows how the emergence of now-endemic diseases, such as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, cannot be adequately modeled without the use of a human behavioral component. Focusing solely on any one sector or level of the livestock system is not sufficient to predict emergent disease patterns and their social and economic impact on livestock industries. These results provide insight toward developing more effective risk mitigation strategies and ways to nudge behavior toward more disease resilient systems.

scholarly journals Keeping Dairy Cows for Longer: A Critical Literature Review on Dairy Cow Longevity in High Milk-Producing Countries

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 808
Author(s):  
Gabriel M. Dallago ◽  
Kevin M. Wade ◽  
Roger I. Cue ◽  
J T. McClure ◽  
René Lacroix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Age At First Calving ◽  
Productive Life ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Critical Literature

The ability of dairy farmers to keep their cows for longer could positively enhance the economic performance of the farms, reduce the environmental footprint of the milk industry, and overall help in justifying a sustainable use of animals for food production. However, there is little published on the current status of cow longevity and we hypothesized that a reason may be a lack of standardization and an over narrow focus of the longevity measure itself. The objectives of this critical literature review were: (1) to review metrics used to measure dairy cow longevity; (2) to describe the status of longevity in high milk-producing countries. Current metrics are limited to either the length of time the animal remains in the herd or if it is alive at a given time. To overcome such a limitation, dairy cow longevity should be defined as an animal having an early age at first calving and a long productive life spent in profitable milk production. Combining age at first calving, length of productive life, and margin over all costs would provide a more comprehensive evaluation of longevity by covering both early life conditions and the length of time the animal remains in the herd once it starts to contribute to the farm revenues, as well as the overall animal health and quality of life. This review confirms that dairy cow longevity has decreased in most high milk-producing countries over time and its relationship with milk yield is not straight forward. Increasing cow longevity by reducing involuntary culling would cut health costs, increase cow lifetime profitability, improve animal welfare, and could contribute towards a more sustainable dairy industry while optimizing dairy farmers’ efficiency in the overall use of resources available.

scholarly journals Quantity and Quality of Aquaculture Enrichments Influence Disease Epidemics and Provide Ecological Alternatives to Antibiotics

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 335
Author(s):  
Anssi Karvonen ◽  
Ville Räihä ◽  
Ines Klemme ◽  
Roghaieh Ashrafi ◽  
Pekka Hyvärinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Flavobacterium Columnare ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Environmental Microbes

Environmental heterogeneity is a central component influencing the virulence and epidemiology of infectious diseases. The number and distribution of susceptible hosts determines disease transmission opportunities, shifting the epidemiological threshold between the spread and fadeout of a disease. Similarly, the presence and diversity of other hosts, pathogens and environmental microbes, may inhibit or accelerate an epidemic. This has important applied implications in farming environments, where high numbers of susceptible hosts are maintained in conditions of minimal environmental heterogeneity. We investigated how the quantity and quality of aquaculture enrichments (few vs. many stones; clean stones vs. stones conditioned in lake water) influenced the severity of infection of a pathogenic bacterium, Flavobacterium columnare, in salmonid fishes. We found that the conditioning of the stones significantly increased host survival in rearing tanks with few stones. A similar effect of increased host survival was also observed with a higher number of unconditioned stones. These results suggest that a simple increase in the heterogeneity of aquaculture environment can significantly reduce the impact of diseases, most likely operating through a reduction in pathogen transmission (stone quantity) and the formation of beneficial microbial communities (stone quality). This supports enriched rearing as an ecological and economic way to prevent bacterial infections with the minimal use of antimicrobials.

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