PHOTO: COR SALVERIUS FOTOGRAFIE
BIOSECURITY ▶▶▶
Tackling biosecurity from a management perspective
Biosecurity and hygiene are critical considerations on dairy farms throughout the world. Repercussions of incoming diseases range from minimal inconveniences requiring antibiotic treatments to the decimation of an entire herd.
BY BRUCE DERKSEN, FREELANCE JOURNALIST
With workers moving from the milking area to calf-handling pens, a change of clothes should be con- sidered anytime we go from older to younger animals.
A
manda Stone, assistant professor and extension dairy specialist at Mississippi State University, believes the most likely factor in these extreme outcomes stems from animals moving from one
location to another. “Of course, in a worst-case scenario, it’s extremely serious when something contagious or deadly enters a farm,” she says. “But we need to understand, there’s a wide range of results, mostly dependent on what the pathogen or disease is. At times, effects are minor with a few sick animals. In rare cases, serious consequences occur.” A common example of a transferred infection in dairy cat- tle is hairy heel warts, or digital dermatitis. This infectious pathogen lives in the ground and causes lameness and other hoof problems. While producers should guard against it, the
disease is exceptionally contagious and prevalent on many US dairies. Respiratory diseases are also easily transmittable and feature several distinct pathogens. As with human respiratory condi- tions, most are contagious and spread rapidly from animal to animal depending on housing situations. Disorders such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), foot and mouth disease and bovine tuber- culosis are more serious, affecting not only a single operation but large areas and regions.
Quarantine and animal contact Stone emphasises that farms should have an effective isola- tion and quarantine protocol in place to counteract these transmissions. She suggests that a separation period of at least 21 days pro- vides enough time for incubation and signs of disease to ap- pear and allows an opportunity for treatment options to be pursued. “Even more important, talk to your veterinarian about any concerns or issues,” she states. “For certain illnesses and con- ditions, I’d recommend an even longer quarantine period, but not every operation is able to accommodate this duration, so work with your vet on a plan.” Stone cautions producers to monitor not only incoming animals but also those moving from one area of the farm to another, as new environments mean new pathogens. “There’s potential to initiate issues from the ground. Addition- ally, if we’re separating individuals to a new pen adjacent to other cattle, for example moving heifers from one side of the yard site to the other, they’re going to be exposed to not only changing environmental conditions, but different animals.”
Minimising stress and vet input Stress of any kind will increase the risk of sickness. What cattle might easily fight off on a normal healthy day may over- whelm them when interacting with new herd mates, experi- encing feed changes or even as they approach calving. “Minimising stress is extremely critical, not only for disease
22 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 9, No. 2, 2022
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