Biosecurity on the Farm:
Preventing Foot and Mouth and Other Diseases
September 2001
The information in this fact sheet was compiled through a coordinated project of University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension; Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Animal Health; University of Wisconsin-Madison – College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and School of Veterinary Medicine; and U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS, Veterinary Services.
University of Wisconsin-Extension presented a live videoconference on biosecurity on the farm, with a focus on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), in June 2001. Viewers at some 220 videoconference sites kept the phone and fax lines busy with questions for the panel of experts. We did not have time to answer all the questions during the broadcast. If we didn't get to your question during the broadcast, you'll find the answer here.
Government prevention and control
Q. What is the government doing to regulate imports of products that might bring FMD into the country?
A. The government prohibited importing all animals, animal products and used farm equipment from high-risk countries. The U.S. also increased personnel and surveillance at ports of entry, tightened regulatory enforcement, strengthened federal, state, and industry coordination, accelerated research, implemented education campaigns and sent experts to Great Britain to help with containment efforts.
Q. What would happen if there were an outbreak? How will government help affected farmers? Will all animals on the farm have to be killed? What about neighboring farms? Would there be quarantines? How would state, local and federal agencies cooperate?
A. The response plan might vary from state to state, but in Wisconsin, the following steps would be taken:
- The Governor would declare a state of emergency.
- The state veterinarian and the federal veterinarian in charge for Wisconsin would activate an emergency operations center in Madison and a field operations center near the infected farm.
- The infected area would be quarantined. The size of the quarantined area would depend on the animal and human population and weather conditions.
- No animals or animal products could move in or out of the quarantined area, and movement of people in the area would be limited. Local officials, with the help of the National Guard, would enforce a quarantine.
- The infected herd would be killed and burned or buried on site.
- Other herds or flocks in the quarantine area would be examined. If infected, these animals also would be destroyed.
- Producers would receive compensation for the animals that were killed.
- After all infected animals have been destroyed, farms would be cleaned and disinfected, but farmers would have to wait six months before bringing animals back to the farm.
How FMD spreads
Q. Do recovered animals carry the FMD virus?
A. Yes, animals that recover from a FMD infection can harbor and shed the FMD virus for several years afterwards.
Q. How long does the virus remain in the ground?
A. The FMD virus has been found to survive in soil for 28 days in autumn and for three days in summer. The virus survives best in a cool, damp organic matrix -- animal manure is a perfect environment. If conditions are dry and hot, the virus dies.
Q. How does garbage feeding of FMD infected meat spread FMD?
A. Garbage that contains meat scraps can harbor the FMD virus. If this garbage is fed to swine, they become infected with the FMD virus.
Q. Someone said meat has no FMD virus?
A. Not true. Meat and meat products from infected animals can harbor the FMD and spread the disease. However, people will not become sick if they eat meat from an animal that was infected.
Q. We have seen pictures of piles of dead animals burning. Does burning kill all virus?
A. Yes, burning kills the FMD virus if it is done properly. If not done properly, it is possible for some FMD virus to escape destruction.
Q. When you see clinical signs isn't it already too late? What are the early signs that are different from other diseases?
A When you see clinical signs, the animal is probably already shedding the virus, but there are no practical methods of detecting the disease earlier. The earliest clinical signs of FMD are lameness and excess salivation.
Q. How many days does it take until animals get the disease after exposure?
A. Generally infected animals show clinical signs two to eight days after exposure to the FMD virus. The clinical signs usually appear more quickly and more severely in swine and cattle than in sheep.
Farm Visitors
Q. What is the possibility that my veterinarian can carry diseases? Should I be concerned about feed trucks and deliveries?
A. It is possible for your veterinarian and other farm visitors to carry the FMD virus on their clothing and shoes if they have visited a farm with infected animals. Farm visitors can also spread FMD virus on dirty vehicle tires if there has been an FMD outbreak in your area.
Q. What steps should be taken by electric and gas utilities on a day-to-day basis as our meter readers, line workers, and power quality engineers visit farms?
A. Do not enter animal barns and facilities unnecessarily. If you must enter the animal areas, thoroughly clean and disinfect your footwear when you arrive and when you leave the farm or use new plastic disposable boots on each farm.
Q. What precautions do state government field staff need to take when their work may include stopping at farms to talk with farmers? What if their work also includes walking through the farmer's woods, which may be used as pasture?
A. If FMD is not present in the area, and there is no contact with animals or manure while on pasture or in the woods, then you need to take only minimal precautions. If FMD is a concern in a geographic area, you should minimize travel onto farms. If you must travel to farms when FMD is a threat, thoroughly clean and disinfect your footwear when you arrive and when you leave the farm or use new plastic disposable boots on each farm. If you will come in contact with animals, change into clean coveralls at each farm.
Q. How would you keep a milk truck from transporting a virus from one farm to another if it can be moved by tires and boots?
A. If there were an outbreak of FMD, milk trucks and other vehicles would not be allowed to travel from farm to farm. Pictures from Europe during the FMD outbreak last spring showed vehicles driving through disinfectant as they crossed borders or moved out of an infected area, but disease epidemiologists believe that prohibiting vehicle movement is the only effective method of preventing vehicles from spreading the FMD virus.Fairs, livestock shows and other events
Q. What about the fairs? Is it safe to bring your animals?
A. If no FMD is in your vicinity, it should be safe to bring your animals to the fair. If FMD virus is a concern, the fair would be advised to cancel the live animal activities of the fair.On-farm practices and disinfectants
Q. Please describe practical sanitation steps dairy producers can take, being as specific as possible.
A. There are too many to discuss here and precautions and procedures vary depending on the type of animal, the disease, and other circumstances. Here are some sources of detailed recommendations:
- FMD Update: Biosecurity Precautions for Farmers, by UW-Extension at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/ag/issues/fmd/fmdweb.html
- Advice for Farmers, by Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) at http://datcp.state.wi.us/ah/agriculture/animals/disease/foot-mouth-disease/farmer.html
- Biosecurity Recommendations for Visitors to Farms, by DATCP http://datcp.state.wi.us/ah/agriculture/animals/disease/foot-mouth-disease/visitor.html
- New Challenges give new meaning to Biosecurity, by Dr. Don Sockett in Hoard's Dairyman, Vol 146, issue 13, page 487, Aug 10, 2001.
Q. Are all disinfectants equal? What disinfectants are the most effective for disinfecting livestock transportation vehicles?
A. In general, disinfectants that contain a phenol, chlorhexidine, or Virkon-S are most effective and are recommended for farm use and for disinfecting vehicles. Many disinfectants are inactivated by organic material, so you must clean off all manure, soil and bedding materials before using a disinfectant.
Q. How do you dispose of used disinfectants?
A. Disinfectants can be disposed of in the regular sewage disposal system. They become inactive in a short period of time.
Q. Are disinfectants effective in below-freezing temperatures?
A. Disinfectants don’t work at below-freezing temperatures. Disinfectants work by chemical reactions that are temperature dependent. The higher the temperature, the faster the disinfectant works; the lower the temperature, the slower the disinfectant works.
Q. Is there a recommended sterilizing solution to clean boots between farm visits by state agency staff?
A. Generally the disinfectant called Environ-One Stroke (a phenol type) is used, but chlorhexidine and Virkon-S are also acceptable choices. Remember to thoroughly clean off all organic matter before disinfecting footwear.Economic and social impacts
Q. What countries have reported a breakout of FMD?
A. Every country except the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand have reported FMD outbreaks in the past five years. In 2000, Japan reported its first outbreak of FMD since 1908!
Q. In 1929, about how many animals were killed in Wisconsin because of FMD?
A. The 1929 FMD outbreak, the last in the U.S., was contained within California. However, earlier FMD outbreaks in 1914-1915 did involve the Upper Midwest and a large number of Wisconsin cattle were killed as a result of those outbreaks. Vaccination
Q. Why don't we just vaccinate animals to protect them from FMD?
A. There are several reasons why we don’t vaccinate against FMD in the U.S. First, as with human influenza, there are many varieties or serotypes of the FMD virus, so the vaccine must be the correct serotype to benefit the animal. Second, some vaccinated animals can become infected with the FMD virus and can shed virus even though they do not show clinical signs of disease. This makes eradication efforts very difficult. Third, if FMD vaccines are used in a country, then that country is not considered to be FMD-free, and trade restrictions are imposed.Wildlife and other animals
Q. Can deer carry this disease?
A. Yes, deer can become infected with FMD virus and contribute to the spread of the disease.
Q. Can Canadian geese coming up from South America (where they already are vaccinating livestock) bring in the FMD virus?
A. This is unlikely. FMD virus has not been found to infect birds. They could carry the FMD virus within a geographic area, but the virus probably would not survive through a long migration.
Q. Can poultry or eggs carry the FMD virus?
A. No, eggs and poultry are not a risk for carrying the FMD virus, unless there is some unusual circumstance leading to contamination.
The information in these fact sheets was developed collaboratively by representatives of UW- Extension, UW-Madison's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and School of Veterinary Medicine, The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and US Department of Agriculture, APHIS, Veterinary Services.