Five key points to note when disinfecting a pig farm
1. Empty pens
After a batch of pigs is sold, the "eight-step disinfection method" should be applied to the pens, namely "clean, wash, soak, remove residue, mist, whitewash, fumigate, empty the pen." Clean means sweeping or cleaning all kinds of organic pollutants in every corner of the pen; wash means rinsing and scrubbing; soak means soaking the facilities in the pen in disinfectant solution for 24 hours; remove residue means clearing away organic pollutants completely; mist means spray disinfection; whitewash means whitewashing with lime milk; fumigate means closing doors and windows for formaldehyde fumigation; and empty the pen means leaving the pigpen empty for more than one week before bringing in new pigs.
2. Temperature
The germicidal efficacy of disinfectants is directly proportional to temperature: as temperature rises, germicidal efficacy increases. Under normal circumstances, for every 10°C increase in the temperature of the solution, the germicidal power can increase by 1 times. However, the temperature of the solution must not exceed what the pig's body can tolerate, and at 0°C it loses its effect. In actual production, the solution temperature in winter should be above 30°C, and in summer it should be kept at 20°C-30°C. In addition, during fumigation disinfection, the barn temperature needs to be raised above 20°C for better results.
3. Humidity
Controlling humidity well during disinfection is also very important. During formaldehyde disinfection, humidity should be greater than 60%; during peracetic acid gas disinfection, humidity is best at 60%-80%; quicklime used alone for disinfection is ineffective and must be sprinkled with water or made into lime milk to have a disinfecting effect.
4. Concentration
Generally speaking, the higher the concentration of a disinfectant, the stronger its germicidal power; the lower the concentration, the weaker its germicidal power. But if the concentration of a disinfectant is too high, it will not only cause waste but also corrode equipment and be irritating to humans and livestock. On the other hand, when some disinfectants exceed a certain concentration, their disinfecting effect instead weakens; for example, alcohol at a concentration of 70%-75% has a better germicidal effect than 95% alcohol. For some high-content chlorine preparations, when the concentration is high, the volatilization of chlorine produces strong irritation to livestock and poultry, inducing respiratory diseases.
5. Rotation
Different pathogenic microorganisms vary greatly in their sensitivity to disinfectants. For example, some viruses (porcine circovirus) are not sensitive to ordinary disinfectants, so highly effective disinfectants should be chosen, such as compound aldehydes, active chlorine, etc.; when disinfecting in the presence of pigs, disinfectants with strong irritation and strong corrosiveness, such as sodium hydroxide, cannot be used, so as to avoid damage to the skin of humans and livestock; for disinfection of injection sites, medium-efficacy disinfectants can be chosen. At the same time, frequent use of one disinfectant will cause pathogenic microorganisms to develop drug resistance, so during disinfection, two or more disinfectants should be used alternately.
Du Xiaoguang