Protecting with biosecurity, knowledge

NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. — As farmers and researchers continue to learn more about H5N1 and how it spreads and affects animals, Marie Culhane, DVM, and Abby Schuft, Ph.D., shared findings within the dairy industry.

The pair presented Feb. 17 at the Carver County Dairy Expo at Central High School in Norwood Young America. They discussed what the virus is, the effects of the virus, how it transmits between species, and, most importantly, how to stop the virus with biosecurity and prevention.

How viruses change and adapt was the first thing Culhane discussed. She said a virus can adapt with every new host it infects. When the virus adapts, this can cause bigger issues because the virus can become more virulent or stronger, take less time to infect a host and have greater potential to spread to humans or a new species.

“I want everybody to understand flu viruses are shared between multiple species and that’s something I’ve studied my entire career as a veterinarian,” Culhane said.

Culhane explained the ways a virus can transfer between humans, pigs, chickens, turkeys, wild birds and now cattle. She also explained how viruses moving between species has been going on for over 30 years with H5 and longer with other types of flu viruses.

She said the H5N1 virus was initially introduced into dairy herds by wild birds. This was accomplished through droppings of a carrier bird that contaminated water or feed sources, were carried on clothing, or through direct contact with an infected animal or a tool used for manure or milk. Once H5N1 was on the farm, people, animal and equipment movement spread the virus.

“It is not good to get it, but there are things you can do to prevent it and things you could do to stop the spread,” Culhane said.

Schuft then took over the presentation to talk about biosecurity and what farmers might already be doing or what they could start doing to help protect their herd. She said there are three main types of biosecurity: conceptual, structural and operational.

“It’s not just for emergencies or just an extreme practice, but it’s also not wearing a hazmat suit,” Schuft said. “It’s everyday prevention, like routine vaccination, pest control and having a sick or hospital pen.”

Schuft said conceptual biosecurity includes knowing the physical landscape of the farm, including water sources, nearby farms and their animals, and knowing what vehicles regularly enter the farm and from where.

Structural biosecurity is looking at how things are built and structured on the farm. Schuft encouraged attendees to look at their milking and housing facilities.

“(An example is the doors to the) milking parlor,” Schuft said. “There’s a door from the outside, then there’s going to be a door to the inside. Those doors are going to be structural things that can contribute to biosecurity.”

Operational biosecurity is the practices farmers, employees and others who are commonly on the farm do to prevent disease from entering the farm or spreading. Schuft said there are many regular practices farmers do that are considered biosecurity.

This includes using teat dip, washing down the milking systems, having a hospital or sick pen and quarantining animals. These practices all help prevent viruses or lessen the blow of a disease caused by a virus.

“This is the least dependable aspect of biosecurity because we all can make our own decisions,” Schuft said. “We might know we’re supposed to wear clean clothes to the farm, but we choose not to one time. That’s a conscious decision that could change the outcome.”

She also said it is important to wear clean or non-barn clothes when going out in public. This is important because it can reduce the risk of bringing anything farmers might have on their farm to others. In return, having barn-specific clothes can help farmers know they will not be bringing anything into the barn with them.

The pair said it is important to make sure people on farms communicate what their policies are for biosecurity, so everyone knows what they need to do. Keeping animals healthy is a top priority on all farms and new ways of doing this are always being researched to improve routines and processes.

“We all need to do our part,” Culhane said.