Survey Indicates Biosecurity In Question
(Continued (ran Pag* Ai) body’i mind. We cannot afford to
tie*, 38 percent never require cov- take losses by disease."
eials. Of the three-quarters who The disease caused by the
responded, footbaths are never pseudorabies virus, PRV, first
required in 49.2 percent of the spread throughout the county in
cases. Change of footwear is never mid-April of 1980, according to
required in 28.8 percent of the LaneaHer Farming records. The
casc ®- disease has plagued swine produc
*On question 34, how are dead era for many years, and the way it
animals disposed of, 6.3 percent of spreads between farms, according
the respondents still spread them to Sischo in a column written spec
on the field. “Other" methods of ifically . for this newspaper,
disposal (not including picked up “Pseudorabies Headline Update,"
by rendering truck, buried, or is still a mystery. Symptoms mim
bumed) was checked by 16.1 per- ic the disease called rabies, with
cent of the respondents. convulsions, depression, and even
■On question 35, howpromptly blindness. In most cases, pseudo
are dead animals disposed of, rabies results in mote stillbirths.
when it’s convenient" was which creates a huge ton of
checked by 20.4 percent of the income for many breeding
respondents, and “other" by 42 operations,
irereent. The survey itself, according to
•On question 33, do dogs, cats, Sischo, will be used to help “iden
or wildlife have access to feed stor- dfy management schemes that will
age. 44.7 percent said they did; on be most helpful in stopping the
pig facilities, 47.4 percent said spread of pseudotabies in Petmsyl
they did; to pigs, 39.2 percent said vania,” he wrote in "Pseudotabies
they did; and carcasses, 26.7 per- Headline Update.”
cent said they did. “I’m not exactly sure, looking
'Pseudotabies was at the results, if there’s a real blar
on the herds of 34.1 percent of the big answer here,” said Fisher,
respondents in the survey. chair of the eradication program.
(The survey questions and “There’s a lot of small pieces of
answers are included with this answers that don’t really tell you
article.) anything.”
The results of the survey, recen- Fisher said that while he
tly released, have generated alarm believes some PRV is spread by
and in many cases shock from the trucks, because of the density of
agriculture community. hog forms in the county, in a
“I’m alarmed .. . that we stretch extending across the north
haven’t dope a very good job of central to northeast part of Lancas
biosecurity.” said Chet Hughes, ter County, he believes that natural
Lancaster County livestock agent. air flow also contributes to the
“I think with the density of lives- spread,
lock in this area, biosecurity needs Fisher said that studies in Eur
to be on the front burner in every- ope show that water droplets car-
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ried through the air were docu
mented to carry a virus “15 to 20
miles,” he said.
While,fhere has been PRV
posidve herds identified through
out other parts of the county, and
other counties as well, the inci
dence of pseudorabies is still great
mostly in the “population-dense”
area of northeastern Lancaster
County.
More information regarding the
survey will be available to produc
ers at a meeting scheduled on
Tuesday, November 23 at 7:30
p.m. at the Bergstrassse School in
Ephrata. (More details about the
meeting are scheduled in next
wdek’s Lancaster Farming.)
As for now, producers should
take steps, after looking at the
survey, to see what can be done
about improving biosecurity on the
Gum. according to Fisher and
Hughes.
“I thought that in the southeast,
particularly in the two counties
they focued on, Lancaster and
Lebanon, that more people would
be aware of biosecurity and would
be doing a little better job of that,
particularly since most of the
industry is here and most of the
disease is here,” said Hughes,
Lancaster livestock agent
Hughes said that showers, if
available, should always be used.
He told Lancaster Forming that
he was “alarmed” that so many
producers don’t require coveralls
or footbaths.
The livestock agent said produc
ers should require all those who
otter and leave the facilities to
change footwear or disinfect their
boots before entering another
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Widths of Model B blade is 72”
Moldboards are 20” high, of 3/16 steel plate reinforced.
Blade angles up to 40 degrees.
Adjustable skid shoes.
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Spring controlled breakover.
When Fighting Pseudorabies
facility. If nothing else, then foot
baths should be used regardless—
an inexpensive way to fight the
spread of PRV.
The survey was alarming to
Hughes because it showed that
ncariy 50 percent of the producers
don’t require a footbath of those
entering the facilities.
“To me, poor biosecurity can
lead to lower profitability.” he
said. “When you see that a third of
the producers aren’t changing
footwear, it points to a need for
industry awareness.”
He said all producers should
take a second look at their biose
curity measures and take steps now
to correct them.
Hughes said the disease can
affect other livestock, and the
spread of it could have a major
economic impact on other types of
Editor’s Not*: Following ar* the results of th*
recent PRV Survey conducted by the Penn State
Department of Veterinary Science.
•1 Hava yea
1 NO. 1 HAM AIL OF MY REPLACEMENT GILTS
2 NO, BUT I DO ACQUIRE REPLACEMENT GILTS
3 YES
4 OTHER
If YES, how away have you acquired is the lasi six mouths?
1 I*lo GILTS
2 11 >2O GILTS
9 MOMTHAN 20 GILTS
4 NOT SURE
o*2 An acquired replacsi—ca glhs fated forpaaudorabies?
1 IDO NOT ACQUIRE REPLACEMENT GILTS
2 NO GILTS TESTED
3 ALL GILTS TESTED
4 SOME GILTS TESTE?
5 NOT SURE
6 OTHER
farming as well, if unchecked.
But Fisher, head of die state
pork producers, said as chair of the
program, a Mg problem is over-
coming the myth that the produc
ers are slow to do anything about
stopping PRV. The National Pork
Producers Council, together with
the Livestock Conservation Insti
tute and USDA, state and local
affiliates, has set the year 2000 as
the date for the total elimination of
the disease.
"The biggcstproblem I’ve had
is overcoming the thinking from
Washington that Pennsylvania
producers don’t want to coopera
tion, that they don’t care,” he said.
"I’ve heard this time and time
again, that we’re not interested in
cleaning up. And I keep idling
them, we are, we are, people are
doing things, it’s notahrays as vis-
(Turn to Pago A4O)
itba last six swaths?
(Turn to Pago A4O)
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