What are biosecurity measures for pigs?

Biosecurity of pigs at the farm level is the set of practical measures taken to prevent entrance of infection into a pig farm and control the spread of infection within that farm.

What is Swine biosecurity?

Biosecurity begins when you purchase your pigs and is a continuous process. It involves preventing people, equipment or other animals from spreading disease to your pigs. For example, you can prevent disease from spreading by using clean, farm-specific clothes and boots when working with your animals.

What are biosecurity measures?

Biosecurity is a set of preventative measures designed to reduce the risks of infectious disease transmission to and among livestock. It means doing everything you can to reduce the chances of an infectious disease being carried onto your farm/property by people, animals, equipment or vehicles.

Why is biosecurity so important in the swine industry?

A biosecurity program is not meant to rid a herd of pathogens, as there are certain levels of pathogens present in every herd. Rather, it is meant to reduce the risk of introduction of new pathogens into the herd and to minimize the impact of endemic pathogens.

Why are biosecurity measures important on a pig farm?

The application of biosecurity measures differs among farms due to the geographic location of the farm, proximity to other pig farms, epidemiological situation (causes, distribution, and control of disease in the herd), type of swine operation, level of technology used for production, and whether other people are employed on the farm.

What is the goal of a biosecurity program?

The goal of a biosecurity program is to keep out pathogens that the herd has not been exposed to and to minimize the impact of endemic pathogens. Pig farm security can be defined as the planning and implementation of a program to minimize various types of risk that can have detrimental effects on the farmstead and pigs.

How to create a Biosecurity Plan for a farm?

All farm biosecurity and security risk factors are unique to that farm and, thus, each biosecurity plan should be farm specific. The best plans are created by working with a swine veterinarian or veterinary consultant who has extensive knowledge of the farm, employees, and local risk factors.

Why are biosecurity plans important to pork producers?

Biosecurity plans are intended to prevent adverse situations and improve the pork production business. All it takes is one breach of on-farm biosecurity to ruin a herd’s health status or that of a neighbor’s. This loss could have long-lasting and devastating production and financial effects on any farm.