Outside the barn, that is
Dedicating footwear for barn-use only could mean the difference between disaster and business as usual.
In late April and early May, several broiler and breeder farms in Norfolk, Britain experienced an outbreak of H7N3 avian influenza. The original source of the virus is believed to be a free-range egg farm, where contact with infected wild birds could occur. British veterinarians have been unable to conclusively determine how the virus was transported from the egg farm to the other farms; however it is believed a likely source is infected feces entering the farms on a workman’s boot or vehicle.
The affected farms were commercial units that followed recommended biosecurity protocols, but one small breach has resulted in the destruction of nearly 100,000 animals.
Poultry farmers in British Columbia affected by the avian influenza outbreak in 2004 understand all too well how easily the virus can spread when they, government, or industry personnel don’t take proper precautions.
Contaminated vehicles, clothing, and footwear have been implicated as sources of viral spread during the outbreak.
At a breakfast meeting during the Poultry Industry Conference and Exhibition in London, Ontario, Dr. Linnea Newman, Technical Service Veterinarian, Schering-Plough Canada, illustrated to attendees how easily contaminated feces can end up in the barn, even when you think you are being safe.
Consider this: You take your kids to the park on a Sunday afternoon, or you are doing yard work. Somewhere in your travels you stepped in droppings from geese, ducks, or other birds, even if you thought you had avoided the obvious splatter. You then get in your car or truck to drive home or do some errands. Now the feces is on the gas and brake pedals, and on the floor mat.
The next time you get into that vehicle, your footwear can become infected. And if what you’re wearing on your feet is what you have on when entering the barn, the door is open for a potential disease threat.
Most Canadian producers realize the dangers of not having dedicated footwear that is only worn in the barn. The provincial and national feather boards have implemented recommendations that advise having separate footwear for each barn and for visitors.
Visitors to the barn can also contaminate themselves and the inside of their vehicles, says Newman. If visitors are not provided with safe footwear – plastic booties to cover their shoes, or having shoes or boots available in the barn, for example– they too are a potential threat, she says.
The simple act of walking from to the barn from your house or vehicle can also be hazardous. Droppings from wild birds can be present in the laneway and when you or a service person walks to the barn, and feet become vectors for disease.
Boots should be placed just inside the barn threshold, so that people entering the barn step directly into the boot and never allow footwear that has touched the ground outside to enter the barn, says Newman.
She recommends providing boots or shoes for on-farm visitors. Ideally, these boots should be the type that can be slipped on over what visitors are already wearing on their feet, but any type of rubber boot or shoe will suffice.
If these aren’t available, she says that service personnel and other visitors should step out of their vehicle directly into disposable plastic booties before walking to the barn, and should overlap those with a second pair of booties that are donned as they step across the threshold into the barn itself.
Those working in the poultry service industry agree that footwear is an important, yet sometimes overlooked, part of biosecurity on-farm. Brian Hermann of Brian’s Poultry Services Ltd. is conscious of how disease can be spread from farm to farm.
“These days, I don’t travel between farms like I used to,” he says.
Herman and his crews, who provide catching and other services to poultry farmers across Ontario, take biosecurity protocols seriously. However, Herman and his staff are limited by cost.
“Implementing the cost of biosecurity gear is a weakness in our system,” he says.
The type of biosecurity gear, including footwear, worn by Herman and his crews on a job depends upon the type of poultry farm being serviced, he says.
For example, he says that when a crew goes to a broiler breeder farm, staff wears full biosecurity gear, including latex boots, disposable coveralls, and hair bouffants. However, the cost of these materials has been negotiated in the service price.
This doesn’t hold true for broiler and turkey farms. “Few are willing to pay the cost, so I can’t recover it,” he says. Nor are facilities and extra time allowed for the crew to change into clean clothes or coveralls between jobs, or to wash and disinfect their footwear.
He does have one turkey client that provides his crew with dedicated footwear when they are working in the client’s barns. This client purchased cheap running shoes for all crew members, he says. But Herman is quick to point out that this particular client requests that the same crew service the same barns, something that does not occur regularly.
“Due to scheduling times and location of the various clients I serve, it’s tough to guarantee that the same group of guys will always go to the same farms,” he says.
Herman will absorb the cost of biosecurity gear when necessary. He says that during an ILT break in Southern Ontario last year, his service staff wore biosecurity gear to prevent further spread of the disease, even though this couldn’t be billed.
Herman and others working in the service sector feel the costs of biosecurity needs to be considered by everyone in the industry. That’s why he and others in the service sector are active participants in the Service Sector Biosecurity Working Group with the Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council.
“Working together has made us realize where the problems lie,” he says. “The Service Sector committee is actively working on solutions.”
Newman says providing dedicated footwear is a simple thing producers can do to help protect their flocks, and their livelihoods. Although disease can happen despite having sound biosecurity protocols in place, following basic protocols is important for consumer perception, and hence industry protection, she says.
Print this page
