Foreign Animal Diseases
Foot
and Mouth Disease (FMD):
Risk: The risk in the USA is very low.
The FMD risk in feeder animals is associated with visitors
with a history of foreign travel.
Training: Provide employee education
to understand and identify FMD symptoms. Be observant for
any unusual situations such as strangers lurking around,
loose pigs, etc. FMD symptoms include blisters or ulcers
in the mouth and between the toes. Animals will salivate,
appear depressed and move stiffly. The disease spreads very
rapidly so expect several animals to exhibit the same symptoms
either at the start or within 24 hours.
Resistance: No vaccines are available
for use in the United States.
Isolation: Isolate incoming animals for
72 hours and observe for FMD symptoms. Optimally, isolate
new animals for two weeks. The animals may be processed as
needed, but processing facilities and equipment should be
cleaned and sanitized after use with each set of new animals.
Traffic Control: People with a history
of foreign travel should be kept away from livestock for
one week. Wash and disinfect (bleach according to label
directions) clothes after travel. Thoroughly clean and disinfect
footwear worn during travel.
Sanitation: Wash and sanitize processing
equipment and facilities between each set of incoming animals.
Action Trigger: FMD symptoms, (salivation,
depression and stiff movement – with erosions or ulcers
in the mouth or between the toes).
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
When the symptoms of FMD are found, notify a member
of the Biosecurity Rapid Response and Security Team. They
will contact the veterinarian and the operations manager,
which in turn will contact the state USDA-APHIS official.
Stop all movement and handling of animals immediately, including
animals on the outside of the operation. Stop all movement
of people and vehicles in the vicinity of the suspect animals.
Clean and sanitize all facilities and equipment that may
have been exposed to the animals. Implement all controls
as directed by the operations veterinarian and state USDA-APHIS
official.
Comments: FMD typically has a short, 72-hour
incubation, but may be as long as twelve days. It is highly
contagious and rapidly spread by animals and inanimate objects.
Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – Mad Cow Disease:
Risk: The risk is very low in feeder animals.
The source is incoming feed ingredients, which is highly
regulated.
Training: Provide employee education to
understand and identify the symptoms of central nervous
system (CNS) disorders. Symptoms may include behavioral
changes, seizures, tremors, and partial or complete loss
of muscle coordination. Notify veterinarian for sample collection
of animals that meet USDA-APHIS targets.
Resistance: No vaccines are available.
Isolation: Special traffic control is
not needed. CNS diseases are not easily transmitted, but
caution should always be exercised when dealing with animals
exhibiting CNS signs. Remember rabies is a CNS disease and
is transmissible to humans.
Traffic Control: Special traffic control
is not needed. CNS diseases are not easily transmitted.
Sanitation: Employees should AVOID contact
with excretions and secretions for all animals with CNS disease
(think rabies).
Action Trigger: CNS symptoms.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
None. However, notify management/veterinarian for
all CNS cases. Necropsy all animals that die from CNS disease
(sample as directed by the operations veterinarian).
Comments: BSE is not an issue for feeder
animals, but important in herd replacement livestock development.
Focus on prevention. Do not feed ruminant derived proteins.
Question is raised from feeding beef tallow. Know your suppliers
and ask for signed letter of FDA compliance. Ingredient
testing and on-site inspection is possible but not practical.
Emerging Diseases
Johnes
Disease:
Risk: The risk is low in feeder animals.
Clinical signs rarely develop in less than two years.
Training: Provide employee education
to understand and identify symptoms of the disease. Symptoms
include chronic diarrhea and weight loss. Include training
that emphasizes the importance of minimizing fecal contamination
and proper sanitation.
Resistance: No vaccines are available.
Isolation: Isolate all animals with symptoms
of Johne’s. Avoid fecal-oral contamination in the
hospital area (minimize the use of oral instruments –
such as balling guns, stomach tubes, oral fluid pumps, etc).
Traffic Control: Restrict movement of
sick animals to within the hospital area. Restrict movement
of people who work in the hospital area to the hospital
area unless sanitizing footwear.
Sanitation: Do not let fecal material
from Johne’s suspects contaminate the oral cavity
of other animals. Clean and sanitize all oral instruments
between uses. Clean and sanitize handling equipment &
snakes after handling Johne’s suspect animals.
Action Trigger: Johne’s symptoms,
(- chronic diarrhea)
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
Notify a member of the Biosecurity Response Team
that an animal has been identified exhibiting clinical symptoms
of Johne’s. They will communicate the need for intra
operation traffic control. Discuss the case with the operation’s
veterinarian.
Comments: Johne’s disease has an
extremely long incubation period. Most animals that develop
clinical Johne’s were infected when young, but older
animals can become infected with Johne’s. Therefore
detailed attention to preventing fecal-oral contamination
is the best defense.
Infectious Diseases Associated with
Respiratory Infection
Respiratory
Disease Complex - Pasteurella, Mannheimia, Mycoplasma
Risk: Assume all animals are exposed to
these inherent diseases. Vaccines may be appropriate for
control or to decrease the severity of some of these diseases.
Training: Provide employee education to
understand and identify symptoms of these diseases. Include
training on health management of clinically affected animals.
Most animalsmen are familiar with the symptoms of these common
inherent diseases. Specific questions should be directed
to the operation’s veterinarian.
Resistance: Good husbandry and management
especially when weaning and shipping animals can have great
benefit in prevention and control of respiratory disease.
Properly vaccinating animals at proper times with a modified
live virus (MLV) will protect from the viral diseases. Newer
pasteurella vaccines are available and when used prior to
a disease challenge can moderate the disease. Other vaccines
have not provided documented protection from the respiratory
disease complex.
Isolation: Special isolation is not needed.
Cross contamination of excretions and secretions from clinically
ill animals should be avoided.
Traffic Control: Special traffic control
is not needed, however a measure of common sense is required.
Equipment, such as loaders used to move sick or dead animals
must be cleaned and sanitized before using around healthy
animals or feed supplies. The dead animals pick up area should
be located at the perimeter of the operation and weighed
across the truck scales used to weight feed trucks.
Sanitation: Clean and sanitize instruments,
equipment and facilities after working with clinically ill
or dead animals.
Action Trigger: Bovine respiratory disease
symptoms, the hallmark of which includes depression and
appetite loss.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
A member of the Biosecurity Response Team should
daily review the sick animals pulls with the hospital supervisor.
Comments: Minimizing stress by proper
care and handling techniques improves the ability of animals
to resist infectious disease. The symptoms of these diseases
may mimic the symptoms of other diseases that would be a
biosecurity threat. Be on guard for any differences in the
signs presented by an animal that may be an indication of
a biosecurity threat. If in doubt, contact a member of the
Biosecurity Response Team, who will then notify the operation’s
veterinarian. Review all cases with the operation’s
veterinarian.
Infectious Diseases Associated with
Calf Scours Complex
Scours
Complex - Rotavirus, Cryptosporidiosis
Risk: Assume all young animals are exposed
to these common inherent diseases. Vaccines may be appropriate
for control or to decrease the severity of these common
diseases.
Training: Provide employee education to
understand and identify symptoms of these diseases. Include
training on health management of clinically affected animals
and supportive therapy for severely dehydrated young animals.
They need to understand the importance of proper sanitation
and attention to avoiding fecal-oral contamination. Train
employees to realize their personal risk and the potential
risk to their families from fecal-oral contamination.
Resistance: Vaccines are available for
some of these diseases and can be used to moderate the condition.
Isolation: Isolate, as much as possible,
all animals with symptoms of diarrhea. This includes animals
with severe depression and diarrhea. Avoid fecal-oral contamination
by minimizing use of oral instruments such as balling guns,
stomach tubes, and oral fluid pumps.
Traffic Control: Restrict the movement
around scouring young animals.
Sanitation: Do not let fecal material
from scouring animals contaminate the oral cavity of other
animals or humans. Clean and sanitize all oral instruments
between uses. Clean and sanitize handling equipment.
Action Trigger: Symptoms of scours in
young animals
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
Preventing fecal oral contamination between animals
is especially true in young animals.
Comments: Review all cases with the operation’s
veterinarian.
Scours:
Risk: Newborn animals experiencing stress
from calving difficulty and/or a cold, damp environment
that are then exposed to a sufficient number of pathogenic
organisms commonly found in many herds such as the coliforms,
rotavirus / coronavirus, and cryptosporidiosis.
Severe risk from complete or partial failure of colostrum
soon after birth (<6 hours of age).
Training: Provide employee education
to understand the importance of avoiding stress to new animals,
insuring the calf gets colostrum early (by hand if necessary)
and observation that the dam takes the calf and lets it
nurse within a few hours of standing.
Resistance: Passive immunity from colostrums
Maintain a clean dry environment
Vaccines are available but still require careful management.
Isolation: Isolate new born animals with severe
symptoms of diarrhea.
Avoid fecal-oral contamination in the hospital area
Traffic Control: Utilize pen and pasture
rotations to minimize contamination of calving ground to
new born animals.
Restrict movement of sick animals to within the hospital
area. Restrict movement of people who work with sick new born animals
and/or sanitize footwear and clothing.
Sanitation: Maintain a clean calving
area, environment.
Clean and sanitize all oral instruments between uses. Clean
and sanitize handling equipment & snakes after handling
Johne’s suspect animals.
Action Trigger: Severe watery diarrhea
in animals less than 3 weeks of age.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
Segregate pairs in affected pasture, move animals
still to calve to new pasture
Comments: Make certain females are in
good nutritional condition prior to calving and that new
born animals get a good start at birth.
Infectious Diseases Associated with
Reproductive Failure
Leptospirosis
(Red Water), Neosporosis
Risk: The risk is low to high depending
on the environment. Leptospirosis is transmitted through
urine contamination, usually of water. Standing water in
pens, especially in hot periods of the year is frequently
associated with symptoms of leptospirosis in feeder animals.
Training: Provide employee education to
understand and identify symptoms of the disease. It is important
for employees to understand types of conditions associated
with transmission of the disease. Do not allow the collection
of water where animals would be tempted to drink. The noticeable
symptoms are fever, labored breathing, appetite loss, extreme
depression, weakness and exhaustion.
Resistance: Vaccines have not consistently
provided protection, but should be used in some circumstances.
Isolation: Special isolation is not needed.
The water supply of animals housed with leptospirosis suspect
animals should be protected from urine contamination.
Traffic Control: Special traffic control
is not needed.
Sanitation: Sanitize equipment and instruments
contaminated from leptospirosis suspect urine.
Action Trigger: Leptospirosis symptoms,
(depression, fever, anemia, rapid breathing, and red/dark
urine). Ask the operation’s veterinarian to examine
all leptospirosis suspect cases.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:
Notify a member of the Biosecurity Response Team.
They will discuss the environmental associations with leptospirosis
and the appropriate corrections.
Comments: Controlling standing water
that animals may drink from will control the spread of leptospirosis.
Infectious Diseases Associated with
Gastro-intestinal Syndromes
Infectious
Diseases Associated with Gastro-intestinal Disease - Salmonellosis
Risk: The risk is high in feeder animals.
Salmonella is spread via fecal-oral contamination. Proper
sanitation and attention to avoiding fecal-oral contamination
greatly reduces the risk.
Training: Train employees to appreciate
the risk to themselves and their family. Understand the
importance of proper sanitation and attention to avoiding
fecal-oral contamination. Provide employee education to
identify symptoms of the disease.
Resistance: Vaccines do not provide protection.
Isolation: Isolate, as possible, all animals
with symptoms of salmonella. This includes animals with
severe depression and diarrhea. Avoid fecal-oral contamination
in the hospital area by minimizing the use of oral instruments
such as balling guns, stomach tubes, and oral fluid pumps.
Traffic Control: Restrict sick animals
movement to within the hospital area. Restrict movement
of people who work in the hospital area without sanitizing
footwear.
Sanitation: Do not let fecal material
from salmonella suspects contaminate the oral cavity of
other animals or humans. Clean and sanitize all oral instruments
between uses. Clean and sanitize handling equipment and
snakes after handling salmonella suspect animals.
Action Trigger: Salmonella symptoms include
severe depression, high fever and diarrhea.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:Notify
a member of the Biosecurity Response Team that an animal
has been identified exhibiting clinical symptoms for salmonellosis.
They will communicate the need for intra operation traffic
control.
Comments:Salmonella can kill anything
from animals to humans! Detailed attention to preventing
fecal-oral contamination is the best defense.
Coccidiosis
Risk: Assume all animals are exposed to
coccidiosis.
Contaminated feed grounds in pasture infects new born animals
new born animals eating infected bedding in feedlot pens.
Training: Provide employee education
to understand and identify symptoms of the disease. Include
training on health management of clinically affected animals
and supportive therapy for severely dehydrated young animals.
They need to understand the importance of proper sanitation
and attention to avoiding fecal-oral contamination. Train
employees to realize their personal risk and the potential
risk to their families from fecal-oral contamination.
Resistance:animals become more resistant
to coccidiosis as they mature.
Isolation:Isolate, as much as possible,
all animals with symptoms of diarrhea. This includes animals
with severe depression and diarrhea. Avoid fecal-oral contamination
by minimizing use of oral instruments such as balling guns,
stomach tubes, and oral fluid pumps.
Traffic Control: Restrict the movement
around animals affected with a scouring disease.
Sanitation:Do not let fecal material from
scouring animals contaminate the oral cavity of other animals
or humans. Clean and sanitize all oral instruments between
uses. Clean and sanitize handling equipment young animals
with diarrhea.
Action Trigger: Symptoms of profuse and/or
bloody scours in young animals.
Rapid Response Procedures for Suspect Situation:Preventing
fecal oral contamination between animals, especially true
the in young animals.
Comments:Review all cases with the operation’s
veterinarian.
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