'Disinfection Is Critical to Our Industry'

Thursday, November 23, 2023

A Reminder to Review Your Procedures & Keep Your Stock on Track

By Colleen Halpenny

As part of the Canadian Pork Council's Canadian Pork Excellence program, the Canadian Swine Biosecurity Initiative aims to protect the health of the Canadian swine herd, enable rapid zoning to prevent disease spread, and provide producers with simple self-assessment tools.

CPE guidelines state that producers must maintain a housing sanitation standard operating procedure, and that it must be carried out at least once per year.

Better Pork spoke with Dr. Conor Voth, DVM in Woodstock, Ont., with Demeter Veterinary Services, to explore how producers can ensure their protocols are being best put to practice protecting their investments.

All-in and all-out

"There are so many diseases and viruses that can have devastating effects on a single herd, let alone the industry as a whole – so disinfection is critical to our industry's survival," says Voth.

As a baseline standard, Voth says it's best to work with an approach which complements movement of your pigs. To take advantage of older animals moving out, he says this natural break in the chain of animal flow allows producers to remove any potential pathogens that younger animals are not capable of competing with.

"It is common for barns to struggle with health and performance. Addressing these barns with a proper cleaning and disinfection protocol will help reduce the pathogen load and give the pigs a better chance to thrive. Emptying barns completely of animals is ideal whenever possible to best manage high levels of disease prevalence.

"This is especially important if older pigs contain a disease that younger pigs coming in have not been exposed to. Creating a break in the pig flow here and properly cleaning and disinfecting the barn can help eradicate this disease from the flow," he says.

Voth acknowledges that farrow-to-finish barns, where pigs spend their entire life in a single building, can be a bit more challenging, but he says that every effort should be made to give each room time to be empty and stop the build-up and subsequent spread of pathogens.

"The agents we need to use to properly clean can't be used on animals, and animals being present means the room is never truly free of organic matter, which will affect the efficacy of the products. Find a space for the pigs to stay, while you spend the time cleaning."

Consistency

Voth says the level of cleanliness at the end of the day is determined by how much effort is made in the first step to remove all organic matter.

"Scraping large pieces to the pit, and pressure-washing starting from the ceiling, down the walls, and across the floor is key to ensuring every bit of bedding, manure, and feed is removed.

"By the end of pressure-washing, at this stage, you want the room to be spotless, so that the heavy work can be effectively achieved by your cleaning agents."

Choosing the right cleaning agent is also vital to your success. Alkaline cleaners have a high pH, while acidic cleaners have low pH, and both will clean in different ways.

Voth says the reason to use cleaners is to help remove any biofilm present.

"Biofilm is a conglomeration of microorganisms creating a matrix of secretions which are extremely resistant to disinfectants. They are unable to break the biofilm and kill the microorganisms inside them. Typically, alkaline cleaners are the best choice to combat organic biofilms, and we recommend using them 80 per cent of the times you disinfect.

"On the fifth time you do a wash, switch to an acid, which is capable of descaling any mineral build-up that may be present. But organic biofilms are much more common, so we suggest starting with an alkaline."

Time is just as critical as the agents used. Voth recommends the cleaners remain on surfaces for at least 10 minutes to reach optimum activity, but to ensure the surface is still moist when washing down.

He suggests that it may require the room to be broken up into sections, if the size will not allow you to wash away before they become dry.

After this stage, Voth suggests letting the room dry as much as possible as wet surfaces can also prevent the disinfectant from properly reaching all areas.

When it comes to the disinfection stage, Voth notes that there are a variety of options available for producers to work with.

"Lime, bleach, and formaldehyde were the staples for years, but we know they have negative impacts on pig and people health. Today we prefer an oxidant or a glutaraldehyde/quaternary ammonium as they are the least harsh while still being excellent disinfectants," he says.

Disinfectant is usually best applied evenly, under low pressure, until all surfaces are saturated. Voth says to move methodically through the room, paying particular attention to corners and out of sight and hard to reach areas.

"We again want to give as much time as possible here to let the area dry. At minimum we'd like to see 24 hours of time, but we also know that increased time positively impacts the reduction in bacterial load that may have escaped your efforts."

Review and improve

"Review your management protocols as often as you can. And then look to the CPE guidelines to assist in finding breaks in the chain. Every three years a CPE vet will visit the farm – that's a great time to find supportive ideas to help with your routines and improve.

"There are always ways to either use a different agent, be aware of what stressors are affecting your herd, and explore new ideas to be proactive in the health of your herd," says Voth.

Small day-to-day tasks can sometimes be overlooked in the importance to disinfect, with examples such as bringing tools onto the farm or cleaning boots when traveling to different areas on the farm. Or the hallways where you have moved older pigs – disinfect thoroughly before moving a younger batch of pigs in the same area.

"Anything you can do to reduce the potential for exposure to pathogens is key to the success of your herd," says Voth. BP