Prevent Foot and Mouth Disease with Hygiene

With its high level of contagion, foot-and-mouth disease has serious economic consequences worldwide. Cleanliness and hygiene in the barn and on the company premises play a central role in preventing and combating the disease. Professional cleaning equipment and routines allow pet owners to maintain high standards of cleanliness - reducing the likelihood of a disease outbreak.

Pathways of Foot-and-Mouth Disease

In the case of foot-and-mouth disease, contagion can be direct or indirect. The infected animals are already highly contagious during the incubation period.

• Directly means: from animal to animal, for example in the barn, on the transport route or at cattle markets.
• The virus is passed on indirectly, for example via transport vehicles, people, rodents, milk and seeds.

Cattle are mainly infected via the respiratory tract, pigs orally, i.e. when drinking, eating or digging in the ground. The virus is relatively stable in the environment and can also be transmitted over long distances via the air.

Recognize foot and Mouth Disease by Symptoms

Animal species react differently to infection with foot-and-mouth disease.

In cattle, 2 to 5 percent of the animals die from the benign forms of the disease, while the fatality rate for the malignant form is up to 80 percent. The consequential damage of foot-and-mouth disease is feared: inflammation, changes to the claws, muscle weakness, a clearly clouded general condition and severely reduced performance.

In pigs, the course of the disease is less dramatic, but there are sudden deaths in suckling piglets. In sheep and goats, the signs of disease are less noticeable.

Distribution Areas of Foot-and-Mouth Disease

The FMD virus is distributed almost worldwide. Only in New Zealand has a case never been reported. In some countries it has been a long time since the last occurrence.

Foot and mouth disease is most common in Africa, Asia and parts of South America. In Europe it is rarer. Despite strict veterinary surveillance, it is repeatedly introduced and, due to its high infection rate, poses a constant threat to animal populations.

The last major outbreak in Britain in 2001 spread to mainland Europe, killing 4 million animals. Another outbreak in 2007 prevented the disease from spreading to other regions.

Cleanliness and Hygiene Against the FMD Virus

The large number of infection routes means that effective prevention of foot-and-mouth disease requires a whole range of measures. Cleanliness and hygiene play a key role in this.

A high level of biosecurity requires professional cleaning and disinfection of the stables and all equipment and machines with which the animals come into contact. In principle, thorough cleaning must precede each disinfection. A disinfectant can only work on cleaned surfaces.

In addition to a shovel and wheelbarrow, the most important equipment for thorough and efficient barn cleaning is a high-pressure cleaner. A hot water high-pressure cleaner is the most recommended. Alternatively, a cold water high-pressure cleaner is also suitable. This should be equipped with a cup foam lance - not only for the disinfectant, but also to apply a cleaning agent beforehand, since the cold water alone is not enough to achieve the necessary degree of cleanliness.

In addition, a surface cleaner and a sweeper are among the almost indispensable cleaning devices. We also recommend a wet/dry vacuum cleaner for cleaning the changing rooms and, in larger companies, a scrubbing machine.

The cleaning routines differ from animal species to animal species:

Rodent

• Control mice and rats inside and outside the stables.
• The first step in controlling rodent pests is thorough cleaning of the stables and yard. Rodent droppings can only be discovered in a freshly cleaned barn and in a regularly swept yard. In addition, mice and rats find less food in a swept yard and in regularly cleaned stables. The most efficient way to clean the depot is with a ride-on sweeper.
  staff and work clothes

Do not allow anyone outside the company into the barn.

• No visits to neighboring farms as long as you wear your own stable clothes.
• Provide disinfected stable boots and clean work clothes or disposable clothes that have been washed at at least 60 °C.
  The changing room at the stable entrance must be kept clean and disinfected regularly. A surface cleaner, a wet/dry vacuum cleaner or, for larger rooms, a scrubbing machine are suitable for cleaning the floor.
  Set up disinfection tubs at the entrance to the barn, lay out disinfection mats at all access roads to the company. Change the disinfectant regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  machinery

Clean shared machines with a hot water high-pressure cleaner or with a cold water high-pressure cleaner with cleaning agent before handing them over and then disinfect them.

Other measures around the farm:

• Do not feed food waste.
• Lock up poultry, keep cats and dogs out of the yard.
• No milk from the farm.
• Meticulously clean and disinfect milking parlors and milking rooms.
• Do not allow carcass disposal vehicles to enter the company premises.
• Ideally, no non-company vehicles come to the farm and new animals or feed are delivered from outside.
• Establishment of a quarantine barn for new animals, which is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before and after each occupation.
• The animals in the quarantine stable should be looked after last. This prevents pathogens from being carried from the quarantine stall to the other stalls.