More Biosecurity
We’ve all grown up with the common sense adage that good fences make good neighbors. That’s probably as good an approach to ranch biosecurity, literally and figuratively as we can suggest. Good fences are the best way to keep out unwanted "visitors."
Some ranchers and cattle feeders are beginning to take the concept of "fences" to a new level. They are thinking more in terms of forming a (bio) security shield around their operations. "Biosecurity and security are different production issues, but both are important and must be properly addressed to protect the health of livestock in an operation," says Dr. Dee Griffin of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center.
From a health management standpoint, breaches in biosecurity are often the root of livestock disease and infection. Applied biosecurity management and practices can prevent, minimize and/or control cross–contamination of body fluids (feces, urine, saliva, etc.) between animals, animals to feed and animals to equipment that may directly or indirectly contacts animals. Biosecurity means preventing the spread of disease by minimizing the movement of biologic organisms (viruses, bacteria, rodents, etc.) onto and within an operation.
But biosecurity can be very difficult to maintain because the interrelationships between management, biologic organisms and biosecurity are very complex, Griffin points out. While developing and maintaining biosecurity is difficult, it is the cheapest, most effective means of disease control available and no disease prevention program will work without it.
Therefore, beyond and in addition to the traditional BQA efforts, a focus of the Montana BQA program, from here forward will be on programs designed to demonstrate how biosecurity–security can be applied to meet the specific needs of Montana livestock operations, adjusted to the different ages of cattle handled or targeted diseases.
"The introduction of disease–causing organisms into a livestock operation can either be intentionally, as would be the situation in bioterrorism," Griffin says. "Or, it can be unintentionally introduced, as is often the case with improper biosecurity application procedures." The biosecurity and security needs of each production location should be reevaluated on a regularly scheduled basis.
"Biosecurity management and practices are designed to prevent the spread of disease by minimizing the movement of biologic organisms (viruses, bacteria, rodents, etc.) onto and within an operation. Biosecurity can be very difficult to maintain because the interrelationships between management, biologic organisms and biosecurity are very complex," Griffin adds.
"While developing and maintaining biosecurity is difficult, it is the cheapest, most effective means of disease control available and no disease prevention program will work without it."
The BVD Virus Example
The bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus is a major viral disease impacting beef cattle reproduction and performance. The key source of BVD virus infection is the persistently infected (PI) animal. PI’s are the result of fetal exposure to the virus prior to the development of its immune system. BVD not only lessens reproductive performance but also produces disease in cattle including diarrhea, respiratory insult, mucosal ulcers and death.
Increasingly, veterinarians and cattle feeders are finding that the BVD virus suppresses the immune system, making the animal more susceptible to infection by other viruses and bacteria. There has been only limited work done on associating an economic cost with herds infected with BVD. But, feedlot studies suggest the cost $7.60/cwt. or approximately $30/animal that is expected to gain 400 lbs. during the feeding period. PI calves are very efficient at spreading the BVD virus to other animals. Current initiatives to develop effective BVD control programs are underway by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the Academy of Veterinary Consultants and state livestock associations.
Biosecurity SOPs and GMPs
Improving an animal’s disease resistance is at the heart of disease prevention and herd health programs and must be considered in the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and good management practices (GMPs) of all livestock production management. But, Griffin says improving disease resistance is not possible or can be over powered for many of the diseases that can affect livestock health and production. Therefore, an understanding of biosecurity basics, in addition to a properly designed disease resistance health program, is essential.
Griffin lists five major components of a ranch biosecurity plan:
- Assessment
- Resistance
- Isolation
- Traffic Control
- Sanitation
Assessment of the potential for disease organisms to enter a livestock herd should include a general evaluation for the potential for contamination of livestock from other/outside livestock, wild animals, contaminated feedstuffs, equipment, etc. Specific diseases of concern should be evaluated as related to the potential for herd exposure, potential impact on the herd, and potential for biosecurity control.
Resistance refers to management that will enable an animal to reject or contend with an infectious agent. Typically, both general and specific components of disease resistance must be properly maintained for an animal’s resistance to function properly. General resistance mechanisms are supported by proper nutrition, minimizing stress (handling, environmental, etc). Specific resistance mechanisms are trained using properly selected and appropriately used vaccines.
Isolation can be the most important first step in disease control. This includes minimizing commingling of all new purchases as well as movement between established groups of cattle. An important biosecurity action on ranches is to separate cattle by age and/or production groups. Visit with your veterinarian about specific isolation management procedures and how they can be applied to control targeted diseases.
Traffic control includes traffic onto your operation and traffic patterns within your operation. It is important to understand that traffic includes more than vehicles. All animals and people must be considered. The degree of control will be dictated by the biology and ecology of the infectious organism being addressed and the control must be equally applied. Traffic control can be built into the facilities design. An example would be placing cattle loading facilities on the perimeter of the operation.
Sanitation addresses the disinfection of materials, people and equipment entering the operation and the cleanliness of the people and equipment on the operation. The ability to sanitize or disinfect organic matter is an important concept to get across to ranch personnel. Equally important is for management to understand, things that are hard to clean, won’t get cleaned. The first objective of sanitation is to prevent fecal–oral cross contamination. Cross contamination with blood, saliva, and urine from sick or dead cattle should also be targeted.
GMP Checklist for Preventing Infectious Disease from Entering All Operations
| Ranking | Y/N | Rank importance if each disease item in biosecurity and note if being addressed |
|---|---|---|
| Always know the health history for the herds from which cattle are purchased. | ||
| Always know the health status of animals brought into my operation / demand a valid health certificate. | ||
| My veterinarian talks to the seller’s veterinarian prior to buying animals. | ||
| Sometimes bring in animals without knowing their vaccination history. | ||
| Buy animals from a herd that has mixed origin cattle. | ||
| Transport animals in clean vehicles. | ||
| Have a control program for outside animals that could spread disease (rodents, etc.). | ||
| Loading area is located at the perimeter of the operation. | ||
| Dead animal pickup area located so that removal vehicles do not contaminate my operation. | ||
| Limit people’s access to my cattle pens, feeding mixing and storage area, and treatment area. | ||
| Keep a record of visitors to my operation. |
GMP Checklist for Preventing Infectious Disease from Entering Cow-Calf Operations
| Ranking | Y/N | Rank importance if each disease item in biosecurity and note if being addressed |
|---|---|---|
| Cattle use community pastures, or are placed in cattle development operations. | ||
| Cattle sharing fence lines with neighbor’s cattle. | ||
| Purchase, borrow, or use loaner bulls from other operations. | ||
| Limit purchases to open heifers. | ||
| Know the biosecurity, vaccination, and testing program for herd(s) supplying replacement cattle. | ||
| Quarantine new arrivals for 21–30 days before allowing them contact with my cattle. | ||
| Quarantined area is designed to prevent cross contamination between cattle. |
Griffin suggests reviewing the checklists above and discussing each item with your veterinarian. He says to rank the biosecurity importance of each item (0 = not important, 5 = very important) and indicate yes (Y) or no (N) if the biosecurity item is being addressed. Add additional items to the checklists as appropriate.
Montana Beef Quality Assurance,
2116 Broadwater Ave., Suite 307/11
Billings, MT 59102,
406-896-9068,
cpeck@montana.edu
Montana Beef Network,
119 Linfield Hall
Bozeman, MT 59718,
406-994-4323,
mharbac@montana.edu