Inappropriate human activity plays a special role in the spread of infectious animal diseases. In an organisationally well-managed farm, the bio-security rules regarding the procedures for human entry and movement should be clearly defined
Every visit to the farm and especially the facilities with animals should be recorded. The visit book should include: name, surname, possibly PESEL, company name, purpose of the visit, date and place of last contact with the animals. As a general rule, visits by third parties should be kept to a minimum. The veterinarian, veterinary inspector, inseminator or nutritional advisor should pass through a so-called sanitary sluice (use protective clothing, disinfect shoes and hands, even take a shower) before entering the facility where the animals are kept. The use of protective clothing provided should be the iron rule. Such clothes should be washed and disinfected or washed at high temperatures after each use. Similar farm entry procedures also apply to staff. In many countries, the rule for pigs is that in certain situations a veterinarian can only enter one pig house in one day.
Disinfection mats, soaked daily in a newly prepared disinfection solution, should be provided at the entrance to the building. People coming from outside (e.g. doctor, inseminator) should wear disposable gloves when handling animals.
Personnel disposing of fallen stock should carry out these operations with disposable gloves, using containers designed only for this purpose.
The entrance gate to the farm, as well as the entrance to the building where the animals are kept, should have a “no unauthorised access” warning sign. The entrance and gate should have disinfection mats and the entrance gate structure should have a pool for disinfecting vehicle wheels. The gate and gate leading into the facility should be kept closed at all times. Vehicles transporting animals, e.g. to slaughterhouses, pose a particular risk. According to current legislation, they should be washed and disinfected after each transport and the disinfection should be documented. This is the responsibility of the transporter (vehicle owner). The driver should wear protective clothing and as far as possible not leave the vehicle (no contact with buildings and equipment).
All vehicles used to transport animals are often physical vectors for the transmission of pathogens and their spread between farms, and when vehicles are not carefully disinfected, they become a source of infection for transported animals.
Movable farm equipment such as feeders, trolleys, weighing scales, partitions or heating equipment, etc., can also be vectors for infectious agents on the farm.