Biosecurity: Your Role in Protecting Oregon's Livestock

Protect yourself and protect the well-being of the animals in your care by providing the first line of defense—biosecurity. Whether you’re managing a large farm or working with a small livestock operation, biosecurity is the first line of defense in protecting livestock from disease outbreaks and ensuring a safe, healthy environment. By following essential biosecurity practices, you can safeguard your animals, your farm, and your own health.

Implementing small steps create a big impact. You can significantly reduce the risk of disease outbreaks and protect human and animal health by implementing these essential biosecurity practices. Long term sustainability of your livestock operation is dependent on making biosecurity a priority every day to protect your and your animals’ health.

The key principles of biosecurity are isolation, traffic control, and sanitation.  

• Isolation: Keep new or returning animals quarantined for at least 2-4 weeks before integrating them with the herd.
• Traffic Control: Monitor and limit the movement of vehicles, people, and equipment entering and exiting your farm.
• Sanitation: Regularly clean and disinfect facilities, tools, and equipment. Provide hygiene stations (footbaths, handwashing stations, etc.) for workers and visitors. 

If you recognize signs of a possible livestock health emergency, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Here is a guide to the must-know biosecurity practices for livestock handlers to protect themselves and their animals.

Separate New or Returning Animals

Separate new or returning animals from the rest of your animals for at least 30 days to ensure they don’t start showing signs of illness before introducing them to the rest of your farm. This is especially important after county fairs, 4-H events, or livestock auctions where your animal(s) may have been exposed to disease.

Limit Visitor Access

Oregon’s active farming community means people often visit multiple properties, fairs, and animal exhibits. Ask visitors to your property, who may have been around other animals, to wash hands and wear clean clothes and boots. Provide disinfectant footbaths or boot covers for visitors to use at entry points to animal areas as visitors can unknowingly carry harmful pathogens on their clothes, shoes, or equipment.

Practice Proper Hand Hygiene

After handling animals, their feed, or equipment, reduce the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses by washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and avoid touching your face after handling livestock. Use hand sanitizers when soap and water aren’t available.

Disinfect Equipment and Vehicles Regularly

Regularly disinfect items that encounter animals. This includes items like feeders, trailers, and vehicles. After moving animals, clean and disinfect all equipment before using it again:  saturate by submersion or spray with 10 percent bleach (sodium hypochlorite), 1% Virkon®S (DuPont), or other applicable disinfectants per label instructions.

Maintain Clean Housing & Equipment

Oregon’s wet climate, especially west of the Cascades, can foster bacteria and parasites. Clean pens, coops, and tools regularly. Keep bedding dry and replace it often. Cleaning and maintaining animal pens, barns, and other areas where your animals live and eat can reduce the risk of infections. Remove manure and bedding regularly, ensure proper drainage and ventilation to reduce humidity and contamination buildup, and separate new animals from the main animal group for at least 30 days to ensure they don’t bring in disease. 

Protect Feed and Water

Store feed in sealed containers to deter rodents, raccoons, and other wildlife. Use raised feeders and clean water sources to prevent contamination, especially during rainy seasons.

Control Wildlife and Pests

Oregon’s abundant wildlife including deer, coyotes, and wild birds can carry diseases. Secure fencing, netting, and rodent control are critical to prevent disease transmission.

Control Animal Movements

Limiting the movements of animals on and off your farm can help reduce the risk of introducing or spreading disease. If animals need to be moved, quarantine new arrivals to monitor for signs of illness, only purchase animals from reputable sources, and if possible, avoid mixing livestock from different sources and of different species.

Vaccination and Health Monitoring

Livestock operations are at risk of various animal disease threats. Work with your veterinarian to develop a plan for maintaining vaccinations and routine health checks. Monitor and report animals that show signs of illness to your veterinarian immediately. There are routine disease risks that occur daily, but there are also high-consequence diseases—such as Avian Influenza, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, and Equine Herpesvirus—that pose significant threats and require heightened awareness and response. Monitor animals’ health closely for signs such as: poor appetite, looking limp or depressed, or behaving differently in any way. Consult your veterinarian or call the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Animal Health Hotline at (503-986-4711) if unusual signs of illness are observed or sudden death of livestock occurs. Learn more about animal diseases that are monitored or reportable in Oregon.

Educate Your Team

If you have employees or others working on the farm, ensure they are well-trained in proper biosecurity practices and ensure everyone understands the importance of hygiene and safety measures that will protect themselves and the animals on the farm. Conduct regular biosecurity training sessions on how to safely handle animals.

Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a line of defense to protect the animal handler and prevent contamination between animal groups. PPE can include gloves, boots, coveralls, and face masks (if needed). It is important to change out of or properly clean and disinfect PPE before moving between different groups of animals, especially after handling sick animals. Care you’re your main herd/flock before caring for isolated or sick animals. Ensure you are properly disposing of used PPE like gloves and face masks to prevent contamination into clean spaces.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with alerts from the ODA as guidance is provided on emerging animal diseases and local outbreaks.

Why Boot Washing Matters

Boots are a primary vehicle for spreading diseases caused by pathogens like bacteria and viruses. By properly cleaning and disinfecting boots, you minimize the risk of transferring pathogens between areas on your farm, such as pastures, barns, and pens.

Steps for Effective Boot Washing

• Designate a Boot Washing Station: Set up a designated cleaning and disinfection area at key entry/exit points, equipped with a wash station, disinfectant solution, and a boot rack for storing cleaned boots.
• Clean Before Disinfecting and Use an Appropriate Disinfectant: Without cleaning off debris, disinfection won’t work. Saturate boots by submersion or spray with an appropriate disinfectant, such as 10 percent dilution of bleach (sodium hypochlorite) (1.5 cups of bleach per gallon of total solution), 1% Virkon®S (DuPont), or other approved disinfectant per label instructions. Allow 10 minutes contact (or the time listed on the label), then rinse or let dry before allowing animal contact.
• Boot Washing Process:
  • Scrape off mud and debris from boots, this step may require a scrub brush, soap and water to get boots clean.
  • Rinse boots with clean water.
  • Dip boots in disinfectant and scrub as needed.
  • Allow 10 minutes of contact time with disinfectant, then rinse with water.
• Maintain Disinfectant Solution: Change the disinfectant regularly to ensure it remains effective, especially after heavy use.
• Store Boots Properly: After cleaning, store boots in a designated area to keep them clean and dry.

Biosecurity for Animal Exhibitors

Animal exhibitions are fun and exciting, but they can also increase the risk of spreading animal diseases. You can help protect your animals by taking simple biosecurity precautions.

Before the Event

• Work with your veterinarian to obtain the needed documents and testing to move your animal to the event
• If traveling to another state, check the state’s import requirements for the event location and ensure all requirements are met before departure
• Follow any additional attendance requirements set by the event organizers
• Do not move sick animals or animals from a location where sick animals are present

During the Event

• If possible, do not allow anyone else to handle, move, clean, feed, or present your animals
• Avoid letting visitors of the event touch your animals
• If your animals are part of a petting exhibit, make sure that visitors sanitize their hands before and after handling them
• Limit contact between your animals and other animals—allow interaction only as needed for the competition
• Follow all the rules laid out by event organizers
• Monitor your animals for signs of illness and follow the event’s rules concerning sick animals, including isolation/testing
• Do not share equipment, tools, or supplies with other exhibitors. If equipment must be shared, disinfect the equipment before and after using it on your animals

After the Event

• Keep animals returning from an event separate from all other animals on the premises, for at least 30 days
• Monitor your animals for signs of illness after they return home. Contacts your veterinarian if any animals become ill
• Clean and disinfect all equipment, clothing, trailers and vehicles used at the exhibition with an approved disinfectant before returning to your farm

General Tips

• Observe your animals daily for signs of disease.
• Be aware of events and unusual behaviors of people near your animals.
• Minimize your animals' contact with other producers' animals.
• Know the health status and disease control programs of any herd from which you buy animals.
• Be aware that visitors can bring disease into your herd. Only essential visitors should come in contact with your animals. Provide protective boots, gloves, and disinfectant for their use.
• Use feed and medicine from known and trusted sources.

Watch For These Signs

• Sudden, unexplained death, high fevers or pregnancy loss
• Blisters or sores in the mouth or on the tongue, nose, teats, and feet
• Slobbering and lameness
• Staggering, falling, circling or other brain-disorder type behaviors
• Unusual ticks, maggots, or parasites

In Case of an Emergency Animal Disease

• Move livestock to the center of the property, out of contact with other animals.
• Isolate animals showing illness.
• Stop visitors from entering your property.
• Stay on your property. Don't expose others.
• Wash and disinfect clothes, footwear, and equipment that comes into contact with animals.
• Use the phone; don't visit friends with livestock.
• Cooperate with the Emergency Animal Disease Eradication Program.

Source: ODA