Biosecurity and Hygiene Procedures in Pig Farms: Effects of a Tailor-Made Approach as Monitored by Environmental Samples

This study describes the improvement of biosecurity and environmental hygiene procedures in 20 pig farms monitored during a 12-month period. A checklist was used to develop tailor-made plans, which also included personnel training on hygiene procedures. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the content in environmental samples, was used as an output biomarker. To gain an insight into the environmental samples, the presence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E. coli) was also investigated as sentinel microorganisms to monitor antibiotic resistance. After 12 months, the average biosecurity was improved, and ATP contents decreased. Despite this, only ESBL-E. coli prevalence was effectively decreased by hygiene procedures, and a challenging persistence of a high prevalence of LA-MRSA after cleaning emerged. Results suggest that a tailored approach and on-farm training are useful to improve the application of biosecurity measures, in particular those related to hygiene management in the professional zone. However, this should not reduce the attention to the presence of resistant bacteria in the pig barns, in particular for the risk of spreading these bacteria to humans in close contact with pigs, moving the attention to the healthcare of workers in a one-health approach.

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