Sickness and disease can be devastating to
any animal population, but the impact on animal health can be extremely
costly to farming, ranching, boarding, and breeding operations. Some
examples of disease causing infections in livestock include; Infectious
Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), a common disease in cattle which affects
all age groups of cattle but hardest hit are young feedlot cattle; In
swine, respiratory diseases caused by major pathogens such as
Mycoplasm sp., Actinobaillus sp., Pasteurella sp., and
Bortadella sp., are usually highly contagious and can often be
fatal; and in poultry, Air-sac disease and Septicaemia result in
increased mortality and condemnation rates of flocks.
Serious animal disease issues are not only
limited to livestock, but also affect the pet population as well. For
example, Kennel Cough is
a common ailment in dogs that can be comparable to the common cold in
humans. People tend to associate the disease with dogs
that have recently been boarded or have participated in large dog shows.
Kennel Cough can be caused by a number of viruses as well as bacterial
species, often with the disease being caused by a combination of the two
types of organisms. Primary among the viruses implicated are Canine
Adenovirus type 1 and 2 as well as Canine Parainfluenza virus (De Boer,
2005). Probably
the single most important culprit causing Kennel Cough is a bacterium
called Bordatella bronchiseptica.
Any time a dog is even in the
near vicinity of an infected dog, the potential increases for infection
due to the airborne dispersal of these organisms. The incubation period
of Kennel Cough is about 8-10 days, meaning the dog could be harboring
the infection 8-10 days before symptoms manifest.
Although
there is a vaccine for Kennel Cough currently available, the vaccine
alone is not effective in preventing infection. The most likely
explanation of this is that there are many strains and mutations of the
viral or bacterial strains causing Kennel Cough, making it highly
impossible to find the right strain to use in the vaccination. This is a
similar issue to the flu shot enigma; each year a vaccine is developed
based on which strain(s) are suspected to be most prevalent (De Boear,
2005). Be aware that dogs can still catch Kennel Cough even if the
animal has been vaccinated to prevent it.
Maintaining
good environmental conditions for animal holding and housing facilities
is often a difficult issue to overcome. In most facilities, there is a
continuous animal turnover thus resulting in a condition known as
disease build-up (Saldivar, n.d.). Maintaining an infection free animal
shelter can be nearly impossible considering the dirt and feces that can
be present throughout. According to Saldivar, disease causing bacteria,
viruses, fungi, and parasite eggs accumulate in these types of
environments and can become immune to improperly applied disinfectants,
thus transmitting disease to the animals being housed.
Zoonosis: A Disease passed
from Animals to Humans
Zoonosis or zoonotic disease refers to
diseases that can be passed from either wild or domesticated animals to
humans. Although many diseases are species-specific or only passing
within one animal species, many other diseases can be spread between
different animal species. These infectious diseases can be caused by a
variety of bacterial species, viral species, or other organisms capable
of producing disease. These agents can dwell in animals as well as
humans and a variety of environmental conditions.
As humans and animals experience more over
crowding, there is a growing fear that more zoonotic
diseases
will jump the species barrier. This problem is most visible in current
outbreaks of SARS and Avain Flu, which have appeared out of Asia where
animals and humans live in close proximity to each other. Some experts
fear that diseases like the Avain Flu can mutate and spread easily among
humans (Orent, 2005).
Fear of animal originated disease does not
only affect people in third world countries. An article published by Dr.
Thu (2002) in the Journal of Agriculture Safety and Health found that
there is emerging concern related to health effects of people living
near confined animal feeding operations, especially large swine
operations. In the U.S., large swine, cattle, and poultry operations are
found throughout the country, not only in rural settings, but also in
areas heavily populated by humans.
Prevention and Control of
Animal Disease
Preventing infectious disease and illness in
animal holding facilities can incorporate a number of activities. As
mentioned above, vaccination is great way to protect animals from
potential infection. The drawbacks to vaccinations are they may not
prevent the animal from contracting the disease it was vaccinated
against. Another issue with vaccines is that they are not available for
many illnesses which animals may be exposed to.
As with human infections in health care
settings, the incorporation of multiply prevention measures needs to be
implanted in animal health. This would include the addition of an
effective disinfection program to go along with vaccination and animal
handling procedures. A problem which impacts many animal handling
facilities is the fact that many of the building are quite large, making
disinfection a huge task (Saldivar, n.d.). Another issue is the limited
manpower available to perform needed disinfection.
Because of the factors mentioned above, ozone technology may prove to be
a valuable disinfection tool. Ozone is not only an effective
broad-spectrum antimicrobial but because it is can be used in gaseous
form it can give a complete coverage of all surfaces. Certain ozone
technology can also be applied with very little manpower once it has
been installed.
Livestock producers and animal care
professionals have several different applications where ozone technology
may be very beneficial. Wastewater and organic matter handling is a
major concern for swine and cattle facilities. Studies have shown ozone
to be an effective tool in the treatment of these waste products
(Watkins et al., 1997).
Another area of concern to animal handlers
is need for an environmental air treatment for confined animals.
Ozone as an environmental air
treatment is becoming popular in both poultry and pork facilities.
Producers are seeing improved average daily gain, feed conversion and
reduced death loss from dispersing ozone into the air. The reduction of
noxious gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfides has also been found
with ozone applications in livestock operations (Hill & Bernuth, 2002).