Biosecurity and the prevention of livestock diseases in Seychelles |14 January 2011

Notifiable diseases are transmissible diseases that have the potential for very serious and rapid spread, irrespective of national borders; that are of serious socio-economic or public health consequence; and are of major importance in the international trade of animals and animal products.

Some diseases like gumboro, mareks, leptospirosis, swine flu, bird flu and fowl pox cause a lot of damage and have serious consequences for any country.

If the country has a well-implemented biosecurity system, it allows the animals to express all their genetic potential, increasing production and the quality of meat or animal products.

Having a good biosecurity system involves:

 The design and construction of certain facilities;

 The application of a group of sanitary and management measures and controls;

 The training of farmworkers, farmers and livestock officers in such a way that will make them protect the livestock population from infection.

The critical points to be considered in devising the system are:
 
 The location of the farm;

 Livestock activities in the area;

 The sanitary status of the area;

 The distance from residential centres;

 The distance between farms;

 Sources and quality of the water;

 Presence of roads and frequency of vehicles movements;
 Rain and wind direction.

Advantages of a good biosecurity system:

 Reduces the risk of chemical pollution;

 Prevents and responds to pests and diseases that threaten the animal population;

 Ensures continued market access of our products;

 Maintains high standards of animal care;

 Promotes safe food supply.

Observations and suggestions about the biosecurity situation in Seychelles

Let’s have a look at some of the aspects of biosecurity as regards the Seychelles situation by looking at these items:

1 Quarantine. 2 Footbath. 3 Changing room. 4 Control of visitors. 5 Control of pests, wild birds, wild animals and rodents(rats). 6 Sources and quality of water. 7 Control of movement of animals. 8 Disposal of dead animals. 9 Proper disinfection.

1. Quarantine measures are enforced by Seychelles to minimise the introduction of diseases from foreign countries, and the import of live animals is under strict control.

To start with, the live animals have to be sourced from an area of the exporting country that is free from the most common diseases of that animal.

With large countries, the whole country might not be free of the common diseases concerned, but that particular local area from which we are importing should be free from the diseases concerned.

There is usually cooperation between the veterinary section of Seychelles and the veterinary section of the country we are importing from, for example Australia for the  import of goats.

Secondly, there has to be a medical certificate attesting to the fact that the animals are healthy.

Thirdly, the live animal has to be quarantined, i.e. isolated for some time until it is ascertained by a veterinary doctor that it is healthy.

Being a group of islands, Seychelles is lucky to be isolated naturally by more than 1,000 miles of sea. Infected weak migratory birds are likely to die in the sea before reaching Seychelles to pass on any infection.

However, there is a minor risk of diseases entry through the hatching of eggs imported from abroad. The authorities are taking the necessary steps to ensure that doesn’t happen. When the poultry parent stock is in place, that risk area will be eliminated.

2. Footbaths should be at the door with disinfectant for visitors to dip their feet in before entering the building.
Shoes have been known to carry diseases from one place to another. Footbaths are not very common here and we have to make a conscious effort to introduce them. The tyres of vehicles also should be disinfected.

3.Changing rooms are available on some farms but not all the farms. Ideally, all the workers should have their bath and change into their work clothes before handling animals. They are not supposed to use shoes or clothes brought from home. Many households have local chickens, and the worker can carry an infection from home to the poultry or vice-versa..

4.Control of visitors. Visitors who come from a home with animals, or visitors who go from one farm to the other, can transfer disease pathogens. Unless it is essential, visitors should not handle animals and, where necessary, precautions must be taken.

5.Control of pests, wild birds, wild animals and rodents(rats). Eradication of pests and rodents can reduce the risks to which the animals are exposed. Ticks, wild birds and rats can carry or transmit diseases to farm animals. There are some poultry pens with broken wire mesh and wild birds enter, eat the feed and then defecate in the feeders and drinkers.

Where possible, the wire mesh should be changed. Where this is not possible, holes in the wire mesh can be temporarily blocked using gunny sacks instead of giving a free party for wild birds at the farmer’s expense.

6.Sources and quality of water. If the water is polluted or infected, the recipient farm animals are affected.

7.Control of movement of animals is done so that infected animals do not spread the disease to other areas. This is implemented commonly in large countries. Part of a country might be declared free of a particular disease while the other part is still infected – with no movement of animals between the two.

In Seychelles movement of animals is not restricted and it’s high time we started thinking of the biosecurity risk. A layer farm might have been infected with gumboro virus but live birds are sold to the public who dress them at their homes all over the island. The viruses can be spread this way.

8.Disposal of dead animals. Dead animals, if not properly disposed of, can pose a risk to live farm animals.

9.Proper disinfection of pens after the sale of animals is usually done on all farms.  Disinfection is easier with cement floors, but some poultry pen floors are not cemented, though some measures of proper disinfection are carried out.

Disinfection should include the walls, wire mesh, feeders, drinkers, fans etc and not just the floors.

I believe with a little effort here and there, we can together improve the biosecurity situation in Seychelles.