COLUMBUS – Foot-and-mouth disease may be shrinking from the media spotlight, but Ohio State University animal health specialists stress the importance of maintaining biosecurity measures that not only keep the disease in check, but also help control other animal ailments.
Bill Shulaw and Gary Bowman, both OSU Extension veterinarians in Veterinary Preventive Medicine, have developed four Extension fact sheets that list appropriate biosecurity measures to help keep animals free of diseases at livestock exhibitions, on-farm field days and farm tours.
The fact sheets cover such topics as how to control employee and visitor traffic on farms, and which disinfectants to use.
Key procedures.
“The fact sheets outline a set of procedures for producers to routinely follow that deal with controlling for all animal diseases, not specifically foot-and-mouth,” Shulaw said.
Shulaw and Bowman agreed the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Europe has raised concerns over the disease crossing into the United States.
“The outbreak gives us an opportunity to teach people there is a risk when it comes to any animal disease,” Bowman said.
The fact sheets can be found online at prevmed.vet.ohio-state.edu/extension/index.htm.
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