Protect Against Foot and Mouth Disease “at the Farm Gate”
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According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the best way for livestock farmers to maintain their herd’s health, and protect them from disease from outside sources is to ensure that proper precautions are being taken right at the farm gate.
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Foot and Mouth Disease, for example, is a very contagious virus that can wreak havoc on hog and cattle operations if operations are not suitably outfitted for defense against the disease. Recently, this disease has gained media attention as new outbreaks have been reported in Japan and South Korea.
The key, says Dr. Jim Clark, an official in charge of animal disease and emergency management at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, is for Canadians to be aware that Foot and Mouth Disease exists in many countries and that Canadian producers be kept safe from the risk of outbreak by managing trade in countries that have had recent instances of the virus.
“In the case of Japan,” says Clark, “we have established a trading relationship but because of the FMD outbreak there we now have prohibited the entry of any animals or animal products or byproducts that might pose a risk… unless they are heat treated in a way that would satisfy us that the virus may have been destroyed.
”We know that there’s always an opportunity that the virus may enter the country no matter how strict our import requirements are. “
Right at the farm gate is the place for farmers to focus their efforts to ensure that are on the defensive against this potentially destructive disease. Individual farmers, feels Clark, should ensure that they are taking the proper measures to protect their livestock from contact with potentially-afflicted sources.
“If they do have people that might want to travel to the farm they should exclude them for at least 14 days before they’re allowed to visit and take the normal precautions from a biosecurity perspective that any farmer would want to institute,” he says. “Make sure that clean clothing is worn, boots are cleaned and disinfected before contact with the animals and to the degree possible there’s no direct contact between the individuals and the animals themselves.”
