Livestock Biosecurity

 

What Is It and Why Should I care?

Biosecurity refers to strategies and management practices that lessen biological risk. On a farm, attention to biosecurity is the most important measure to reduce and prevent the introduction of diseases or pests of animals and plants. Biosecurity practices also minimize the spread of diseases or pests within a farm system. Many aspects of biosecurity are common sense, but if these strategies and practices are not enforced consistently, there is a greater risk …

Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP)

Goats in a field.

Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a highly contagious infectious disease of goats caused by the Mycoplasma mycoides capri and Mycoplasma F38 bacteria. CCPP causes inflammation of the lungs and accumulation of fluid in the chest cavity. Damaged lung tissue can harden and adhere to the chest wall, which interferes with effective respiration and causes the goat to die from lack of oxygen. Mortality rates can reach 100 percent.

CCPP is spread through the inhalation of airborne droplets from coughing/sneezing animals. …

Which diseases of sheep and goats are reportable?

According to the USDA’s National Animal Health Reporting System (www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/disease_status.htm#sheep), the following sheep and/or goat diseases are reportable to state and/or federal animal health authorities. Individual states may require additional diseases to be reported, and additional diseases may be added to this list at any time.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)
Vesicular stomatitis (VS)
Rinderpest
Peste des petits ruminants
Rift Valley fever
Bluetongue
Sheep pox and goat pox
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
Aujesky’s disease (Pseudorabies)
Echinococcosis/hydatidosis
Heartwater …

Goat Anthrax

This disease results from infection by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This bacteria requires oxygen to survive and has two forms, the vegetative form and the spore form. The vegetative form is easy to kill with disinfectants, but the sporulated form is very resistant to environmental temperature extremes, drying and disinfectants; it can live for years in contaminated soils. Anthrax is …