The role of transport in the potential spread of diseases such as swine dysentery, and PED in the United States, emphasises the need to pay very close attention to vehicle hygiene, according to ACMC veterinary consultant Paul Thompson.
While outside hauliers were partly beyond a pig unit’s control, he said there should be at least a visual check that these have arrived clean before starting to load.Â
Biosecurity was also vulnerable when the unit’s own transport was used to move pigs to grow-out sites if vehicles were not properly cleaned and disinfected before returning to breeding unit.Â
He added that the importance of using a detergent in the washing process is well documented, and for units using this method of moving pigs, a designated washing site as far away from the breeding unit as possible was recommended.