May 19, 2011

Canada increases biosecurity on farms

Guelph-based Ontario Pork, the organisation made up of 2,000 pork producers, declared the appointment of the regional veterinarian, who will give technical assistance in Ontario for the Canadian Swine Health Board's biosecurity programme.

Biosecurity in the farming community means keeping farms free of, or in control of, naturally occurring disease germs, said the new coordinator of on-farm biosecurity training.

General manager Ken Ovington said the initiative will implement biosecurity training and techniques, research and management solutions in the agricultural community.

The need for strict measures on all Canadian farms hit home with a vengeance in 2003 when the Americans closed their borders to beef after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, so-called mad cow disease, was detected in Alberta. Outbreaks in other countries in recent decades have led to mass slaughter of cattle herds.

The goal of training is to keep Ontario's swine herds as disease-free as possible and safe from any foreign threats if they do come into Canada. While BSE affects mainly cattle, pigs have their own weaknesses to diseases of opportunity. These include PRRS, or porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome.

"It is fairly prevalent in Ontario," Degroot said, adding control is more realistic than the dream of eradication.

"Countermeasures to such threats include controlling farm animal environments and movement, establishing protocols for monitoring and testing, as well as keeping farms consistently clean and sanitary," Degroot said.

"If there were an outbreak, improved biosecurity would help to contain it on a farm," Degroot reasoned.

His goal is to see all Ontario pork producers take the course, which entails one day of classroom instruction and a visit to each farm by a trained biosecurity veterinarian. "It is available to everybody," Degroot said.