Protecting Against African Swine Fever: Biosecurity - Dr. Don Davidson, Cooper Farms Veterinarian, from the 2020 Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference, held March 3-4, 2020, Ada, OH, USA.

1. Protecting Against African
Swine Fever: Biosecurity
Donald L. Davidson, DVM, MS

2. Biosecurity Facts
1. Disease is a welfare concern and costly to producers and markets
a) PRRS is estimated to cost US Swine Industry $640 million to
$1.0 billion annually
b) ASF is expected to cost the US Swine Industry $8.0 billion
2. Objective is to prevent disease from spreading farm to farm,
animal to animal, animal to human, human to animal
3. Clean equipment should be used routinely
4. Limit where vehicles, equipment and personnel go
5. Clean equipment with detergents, rinse, then apply disinfectants
6. Disinfectants cannot eliminate pathogens if organic material is not
removed first

3. Downtime
• Downtime is a length of time that people
must be away from swine before they are
allowed to enter a farm.
• This time allows disease-causing
organisms that are on the person to die
from exposure to the environment (heat,
light, drying).

4. Indirect Contact
• A person or object comes in contact with an infected
agent and then carries the disease-causing organism to
another pig
– People
– Transportation equipment – trucks, trailers, boots, sort
boards, etc.
– Rodents, birds, insects
– Equipment – semen coolers, tools, lunch pails,
ultrasound machine, boxes, supplies, etc.

5. Vehicles
• Vehicles are only allowed on the constructed driveways
and parking lots
• Employees should avoid driving their vehicles in or
around areas where other swine are raised
• Personal vehicles should be routinely cleaned
• Vehicles that move from site to site (maintenance,
environment, etc.) should be washed and the floorboards
swept every week.
• If a vehicle contacts lagoon water or pigs, it should be
washed before going to another site

6. Disease survivability
• This time of year- cooler, disease causing
agents can live and move easier
• PRRS, PEDv, TGE and ASF survive well
in cold environments
– Many studies have been done to show that
they can be easily transmitted on shoes and
hands

7. Infectivity of Swine Manure
• PEDv:
– 28 days post infection if v. cold/frozen
– 4 – 6 months PCR (+)
– Up to 9 months has been reported
• PRRS:
– 11 days moist, cold, wet
• Salmonella:
– 56 days at 4 C (39.2 F)
• Mycoplasma:
– 8 days

8. Survival of swine pathogens
• PEDv can survive up to 9 months in manure
• PRRSv can be viable up to 11 days in moist
conditions, and survive for months to years
when frozen (24h at 37°C [99°F]; 20min at 56°C
[132°F])
• ASFV can survive in manure for 8 days at 4°C
[39°F], 5 days at 21°C [70°F]; urine for 15 days at
4°C [39°F] and 5 days at 21°C [70°F]
BiosecurityDiseasesRisksFarmvisit

9. African Swine Fever (ASF)
• Extremely contagious viral disease of pigs
• Some strains can approach 100% mortality in all ages of pigs
• Has been eradicated in US
• 2018 outbreaks in China
• Globalization è risk for introduction into US
• Transmission routes:
• Direct
• Garage (swill) feeding
• Contaminated feed ingredients
• Fomites – vehicles & equipment
Swine diseases of importance
BiosecurityDiseasesRisksFarmvisit

10. African Swine Fever Virus
• Highly resistant in environment,
especially at lower temperatures
• Survival
– Several days in feces
– Month(s) in contaminated pens
– Up to 18 months in blood
– Over 140 days in some pork products
• Salted dried hams
– Years in frozen carcasses
Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University, 2018

11. ASF Present in Over 50 Countries
When it comes to African swine fever (ASF), today it seems it’s almost easier to say where the
virus isn’t present. According to the World Health Organization (OIE), more than 40 countries have
reported the deadly virus either in wild or domestic pigs during the past five years (It’s over 50
countries without this caveat). Of course, not all of these countries are significant pork producers,
but the diversity of ASF’s geographic spread shows how easily the virus can spread.
Belgium
Benin
Burkina Faso
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
China
Congo
Cote D'Ivoire
Czech Republic
Estonia
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea-Bissau
Hungary
Italy
Kenya
Laos
Latvia
Lithuania
Madagascar
Malawi
Moldova
Mongolia
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nigeria
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Senegal
Serbia
Sierra Leone
South Africa
South Korea
Slovakia
Tanzania
Timor-Leste
Togo
Uganda
Ukraine
Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe

13. PRRS Epidemiology
Andreia G. Arruda, DVM, MS, PhD
1. Networks - limited indirect connections between
swine sites and service providers
2. Land Features – highly inclined terrains and
presence of shrubs and trees
3. Seasonality – colder months, year round; region
dependent
4. Area Spread – no evidence of area spread by
airborne transmission

14. Why is it important?
Intramuscular
100 virons
Intranasal
1000 virons
Artificial
Insemination
10,000 virons
Oral
100,000 virons
PRRSV
1ml piglet serum can have
10,000,000,000 virons
Can infect 10,000,000 sows via
intramuscular injection
1ml sow saliva can have
500,000 virons
Can infect 5 sows via
the oral route

15. Slurry risk (Dee et al, 2011-2012)
Pipestone research:
• Pigs shed PRRSV in feces for 7 days.
• PRRSV survives in slurry 14 days at 40C (104F) and 5 days at 100C
(212F)
• PRRSV survives in pit solids < 14 days.
• Pumping equipment (agitator & hoses)
• Personnel attire (coveralls & footwear) are vehicles for mechanical
transport of virus.
• Infectious PRRSV can be aerosolized over short (3m/10ft) and long
distances (30m/98ft) during application.
–

16. Manure Pumping Scheduling
• Communication
• Clean sites should be pumped first
• Followed by sites with longest time
between disease
• Where is manure being applied

18. Farm Biosecurity when Pumping
Manure
• Pumping pits is a necessary activity that must be done
• The grower should clearly communicate and enforce
biosecurity requirements with manure applicator and
themselves
• Everything outside the “Line of Separation” is considered dirty
• The grower needs to follow biosecurity when entering barns
with themselves, equipment, etc.
• The grower should not allow manure applicators to enter
barns or manure to be applied within reasonable perimeter of
barn nor allow splash to contact barn.

19. Manure Pumping
• Communicate with Grower:
– Biosecurity and down time requirements
– Health status of farm
– Does grower have any equipment they want you to
use
– Previous site and health status
– Line of separation
– Where will manure be applied

20. PIC Biosecurity Guidelines for Manure
Management in Multiplier Herds
• Guidelines:
• 1. Farm personnel: a. Inform all employees of the biosecurity requirements/expectations
regarding manure removal. b. Avoid any foot cross-traffic with manure hauling personnel
or equipment. c. Communicate with neighboring swine producers about the health status
of the pigs originating the effluents, application locations and dates. d. Establish and
communicate a strict clean/dirty biosecurity line between people handling effluent and any
pig population.
• 2. Manure hauling personnel: a. Inform all employees of the biosecurity
requirements/expectations regarding manure removal. b. Schedule procedure in advance
and notify farm personnel at arrival. c. People involved with effluent removal should NOT
have direct contact with pigs or access site office or feed bins. d. Follow a dynamic
biosecurity pyramid flow provided by multiplier management. Clean clothing and footwear,
a shower and overnight downtime are mandatory between sites.

21. PIC Biosecurity Guidelines for Manure
Management in Multiplier Herds
• 3. Procedure and equipment:
– Do NOT agitate manure in pits under buildings which have housed SEC positive pigs.
Remove only as much effluent as possible without agitation. b. Use only site-specific
equipment in the pits. Likewise, use site-specific hoses to transfer the effluent as far away
from barns as possible. c. Whenever possible, share pumping equipment only within a
production flow or system. d. Follow a dynamic biosecurity pyramid flow provided by
multiplier management: i. SEC negative farms should be serviced before positive farms. ii.
Farms higher on the genetic pyramid should be serviced before farms lower on the genetic
pyramid. iii. Sow herds should be serviced before grower sites. e. Thoroughly wash,
disinfect, dry, allow for 48 hours down-time and inspect shared equipment before moving
from farm to farm. f. A biosecurity officer should inspect and approve shared equipment
before it arrives on-site. Submit the “manure equipment inspection form” to PIC. g. When
manure tank equipment is needed, identify an alternative driveway to avoid crossing paths
with routine farm traffic. h. Avoid cross-over vehicular traffic when transporting effluent on
public roads or during application. Consider pig movement and feed deliveries. i. The area of
the site where the equipment operates and all potentially contaminated materials need to be
disinfected immediately after the procedure is completed.

22. Cooper Farms Nursery & Finisher Manure
Application Recommendations
1. Communication: where pumped previously, when, health status of
previous sites, biosecurity requirements, line of separation, where
will manure be applied.
2. Establish where equipment will be set up
3. Is grower providing any equipment
4. Do not enter barns
5. Do not allow any equipment or manure to come in contact with
animals
6. If agitating pit, do not allow manure or foam to splash up in pens
7. Back flow prevention

23. Cooper Farms Sow & GDU Manure
Application SOP
High Health Farms
1. Up to 1 months down time due to time of pumping or,
2. After dairy and/or municipal pumping
3. Wash, disinfect and dry with 2 weeks downtime
4. Re-clean, disinfected and dried equipment on Cooper Farms controlled site
5. Equipment remains on Cooper Farms site for 1 week
6. Tanker trucks and trailers cleaned and disinfeceted
7. Tractor cabs, floor mats, steering wheels, door knobs, seats, etc. cleaned and
disinfected
8. Clearly established clean and dirty line
9. Cooper provides hose from barn to tanker
10. Manure applicators disinfect shoes every time in and out of equipment
11. Manure applicators stay on site during pumping and application

24. Cleaning & Disinfecting
Cleaning:
1. Remove visible organic material
2. Clean with detergent
3. Remove biofilm with detergents
4. Rinse with pressurized hot water
5. Apply disinfectant and leave on
for indicated contact time
6. Allow to dry
Disinfection:
1. Follow manufacturer’s directions
2. Select right disinfectant
3. Rinse soaps well before applying
disinfectant
4. Time to kill is important
5. Foaming disinfectant ensures
better coverage
6. Drying is essential

28. Final considerations
´ Importance of biosecurity protects farms, industries, communities
´ Entering swine farms
´ Call before entering – ask about farm-specific rules
´ Follow directions when entering
´ Be clean when on swine farm
´ Disinfect and communicate when leaving
´ You can help protect the health of your community and family