Time To Improve 'Wussy' Equine Farm Infection Control
An Australian horse group, the Queensland Horse Council, is calling for the equine industry to change its culture in terms of biosecurity. I agree completely, however, as I've said before, I think the term "infection control" is really what we are talking about here. Biosecurity involves keeping pathogens off a farm, as is done with tight controls on pig farms. Infection control also tries to do this, but realizes it's not completely possible with how we manage horses, and therefore also focuses on controlling the impact and spread of infectious diseases on the farm.
This is obviously in response to the recent Hendra virus outbreak in Australia. It usually takes a remarkable (and sometimes tragic) event to get people talking about infection control. It becomes a hot topic, people call for improved efforts and resources, and everyone gets on board... for a few weeks. After a short period of time without problems, people tend to revert to their usual behaviour, and infection control often gets marginalized again. The key, therefore, is establishing a sustained effort. That's the hardest part of infection control, be it in a hospital or on a farm.
Queensland Horse Council (QHC) president Debbie Dekker is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying "We are a pretty gung-ho lot and biosecurity is treated like some sort of wussy thing. Everyone needs to tighten up their biosecurity practices."
Well said.
"We still have a lot of people who don't know about Hendra virus so we need to get the information out to horse owners."
Communication and education are key. Just telling people they need to do something is not going to be very effective. Infection control practices usually involve some degree of effort or change in normal practices. If people don't understand why they should change, they are less likely to do so.
Sporadic infectious diseases and outbreaks will continue to happen (in horses, people and others). We can never completely eliminate the risk. We can, however, reduce some of the risks. While nothing can change what has happened with the most recent Hendra virus outbreak, we should at least make sure some good comes out of it, and that it leads to improved infection control awareness in Queensland and beyond.
Thanks to Dr. Doug Powell of Barfblog for the headline.
Image source: www.qldhorsecouncil.com
