Are We Spreading Disease? The Importance of Biosecurity in Veterinary

By Dr Linda Evans BVetMed MRCVS

The outbreak of Covid-19 became a global pandemic and sent the world into lockdown.

It highlighted the dangers of contagious diseases and brought disease control into the mainstream consciousness.

Covid-19 certainly taught us how easily and how fast pathogenic agents can spread, that they can arrive unexpectedly and become out of control before we have time to prepare.

The statistics tell the story (World Health Organisation):

* cases of Covid-19 that were confirmed and reported

Government messaging outlined the importance of biosecurity and measures were widely taken across all sectors and amongst the general public to protect against the spread of infection, including the use of appropriate PPE and hygienic practices.

Have we learnt the lessons from this ‘once in a lifetime’ event? As time passes and memories fade, the habits that we all adopted to improve biosecurity are no longer in general use.

But as veterinary professionals, it is vital that biosecurity always remains a top priority when handling and treating animals. And that we play our part in avoiding the spread of diseases and potentially catastrophic outbreaks.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) recognises the importance of biosecurity for disease prevention and control and in 2017 they agreed the need to develop a new chapter dedicated to biosecurity for terrestrial animals for the Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

Consider the course and impact of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK in 2001 (National Audit Office):

Strict measures for biosecurity will be uppermost in the minds of some of our farm and poultry vets due to the outbreaks of Bluetongue and Avian Influenza currently in the UK and the case of Foot and Mouth recently reported in Germany – which is far too close for comfort. DEFRA have contingency plans available on their website for the relevant notifiable diseases and they signpost what we can expect in the event of an outbreak.

Many of you will already have protocols and contingency plans in place, but we all need to review our protocols, plans, and training programmes, to develop them if they are not already in place or to deliver a training programme to all our staff if they are not being followed effectively.

The very nature of our occupation means that we are frequently covered in animal discharge; faeces, pus from abscesses, saliva, urine and blood. We need to ask ourselves if we have become immune to the risk from these discharges because it is part of normal working life.

We cannot be complacent; we must all be responsible; to spread disease is one of the biggest threats to the welfare of the animals we care for.

What are the implications of spreading disease?

The implications tend to be dependent on the severity and scale of the disease or condition, but at the very least it will cause discomfort, often pain and, in most cases, is detrimental to the welfare of the affected animal. It may result in a cost for treatment, it may lead to a need for euthanasia.

If the disease affects productivity, there will be a financial loss for the owner or keeper. If the disease is notifiable this can result in the loss of the disease-free status for the country, and an economic impact from the associated loss of trade and the cost of controlling and eventually eradicating the disease. There is a further economic hit for owners and keepers as movements of animals are likely to be restricted and events, shows and markets cancelled or only allowed to go ahead in a limited capacity.

In some of the world’s poorest countries, where resources can be limited and human poverty levels high, many animals are used for work, to support the family and the community, providing livelihoods and services. The loss of these animals due to disease can be catastrophic to those communities reliant on their animals. Disease is very likely to spread in the conditions in which the animals may be kept and many live in very close contact with the family presenting a heightened risk from zoonotic diseases.

An important consideration, and one which must not be forgotten, are the zoonotic infections (those passing between animals and humans) and the associated risks. Are we using the correct PPE and vaccinations according to the risk?

Disease and the resulting poor health will have a detrimental effect on the welfare of an animal and can lead to outbreaks within human populations.

Who needs to consider biosecurity?

Biosecurity refers to a set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogenic agents.

With this in mind it becomes obvious that everyone needs to consider biosecurity at all times, whether for spread between people, between animals or between animals and people:

· Veterinary practices or centres: how many animals will have contact with a patient carrying a pathogenic agent before this is diagnosed and mitigation against spread put in place?

· Commercial premises, such as farms, studs and equestrian centres: with frequent movements of animals and people would early infection be identified in some of the larger establishments before disease is out of control?

· Shows, markets and events: what checks are in place before multiple animals from many locations mix and could we miss sub-clinical infection?

· Sanctuaries and rescue centres: are new arrivals tested for presence of pathogenic agents or quarantined for a suitable period to prevent spread of disease?

· Charities and NGOs with hands on contact with animals: is there a biosecurity policy and are all staff aware of it and trained in best practice?

· People who regularly cross borders to work with animals: we may believe that we are helping communities and animals by carrying out clinical work or programmes of prevention in areas with high levels of poverty and scarce resource but consider the potential introduction of pathogenic agents to naïve populations, or the risk of bringing back infection from a country where many notifiable diseases are endemic. Are we checking the risk of contamination, for example on our footwear and equipment?

Biosecurity is not confined to, and only the responsibility of, vets. But as vets we have a very important role to play in the prevention of the spread of disease. We can promote, train and help to develop good practice.

We are very well placed to promote and to provide advice on the use of good biosecurity.

What is best practice?

Larger organisations may need a policy in place but regardless of the size or nature of the premises the use of biosecurity plans with clear protocols is best practice. They need to be customised and relevant, simple to follow, easy to use and to embed in everyday life and also visible and understood. Having a plan with protocols for different scenarios allows for training of all staff and for preparation for the unexpected.

Considering the 3 stages of response to a disease:

Prevention is always going to be best practice, and this refers to reducing the risk of a disease entering a population in which it is not yet present.

1. Identification and diagnosis refers to confirmation of the presence of a pathogenic agent and understanding the extent of the disease within the population and the epidemiology of the disease.

2. Control refers to managing, limiting or even progressively reducing the impact of a disease already present in a population or in an area.

3. Eradication is to move to a state where the pathogenic agent is no longer present in a national or global population, or to achieve a status where no further cases of the disease occur, and continued control measures are unnecessary.

Biosecurity should be a critical component of all health programmes, regardless of the size of the population or the disease status.

There is a need to incorporate behavioural measures for ‘good habits’ and to train and promote human behaviour change in your programme.

What are the benefits?

One of the commercial and professional benefits of practising good biosecurity is to the reputation of the organisation or practice and to the professionals working there. It also allows promotion of good practice to clients if it is clearly visible as part of routine work, including examinations or visits.

Core to our profession and an ethical consideration is the protection of animals against poor health and poor welfare, we should promote the use of effective biosecurity and the benefits of doing so.

We must prevent the spread of pathogenic agents and resulting disease where it is in our power to do so in order to safeguard against suffering and poor welfare or Quality of Life.

Are we spreading disease? Is it time to review our biosecurity?

Are we spreading disease? Is it time to review your biosecurity?