Biosecurity for Canadian Dairy Farms - Producer Planning Guide
Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms

Following is a list of terms that may be used in the Planning Guide, and that are often used in discussing biosecurity, with a working definition for each:

Aerosol: A cloud of solid or liquid particles suspended in a gas form that can be distributed or dispersed in the atmosphere.

Animal Health Management Plan: A facility- or operations-based plan that describes and communicates the practices that support animal health, respond to disease, and serve to limit disease risks on a dairy farm.

Bio-containment: Practices that serve to limit the possible movement of disease agents outside of an area determined to be infected with or carrying a disease.

Bio-exclusion: Practices that serve to keep disease-risk agents away from susceptible animals.

Bio-management: Practices that are followed on a day-to-day basis to limit and control the potential impact of disease agents and the materials that house them.

Biosecurity: A set of herd management practices to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious diseases.

Biosecurity protocols: Those measures specific to a dairy operation used to prevent the introduction and the spread of disease within the cattle population and from that cattle population.

Calf ranch: Term used in the United States for "calf pens" or other similar facilities.

Cleaning: A practice that removes accumulated organic matter and dirt – may be followed by disinfection.

Closed herd: A population of cattle that have all been bred and raised on-farm, with no purchased replacement animals of any age. If cattle are taken to a show and returned, the herd can no longer be considered closed.

Commingle: The act of mixing cattle, either with other cattle from different farms or production facilities or with other animal species, resulting in direct or close indirect contact among them.

Control area: Any one of four categoriesthat have been used in the Dairy Standard to help organize, explain, and communicate how biosecurity practices apply on dairy farms.

Controlled access zone: A designated area in which biosecurity protocols are in place and monitored and within which livestock are managed (e.g. a location or primary location). It is accessible to people, equipment, vehicles, and livestock only through a securable (e.g. lockable) controlled access point.

Cross-contamination: The act of mixing a material, especially a material that is potentially infectious, with another material, thereby introducing the risk that a contaminant could be transmitted to an animal. For example, disease organisms shed by sick or carrier animals can be transmitted from manure to feed by the use of a common bucket or shovel.

Dairy operation: Includes the buildings, paddocks, corrals, and pastures used at any time of the year to manage any livestock, including dairy cattle; may have one or more locations.

Direct contact: Any form of close contact in which cattle can touch one another, including all forms of nose-to-nose contact.

Disinfection: A practice that inactivates or destroys disease organisms – must be preceded by cleaning.

Emerging disease: A disease that has either been newly discovered or is new to a geographic area or population and has been increasing in incidence. An example is Schmallenberg disease.

Endemic disease: A disease that may commonly exist in a species, in a region, or in the national herd. Examples include enzootic bovine leukosis and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD).

Equipment: Farm machinery, implements, and livestock conveyances; does not include vehicles for personal or business transport.

Foreign animal disease (FAD): A range of biological threats to livestock, poultry, and wildlife that are not normally found in Canada. Examples include foot-and-mouth disease and Schmallenberg virus.

Hazard and control points: Terms borrowed from Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs to denote points of risk, and the manner of addressing them.

Herd of origin: The herd within which the animal was born and raised.

Isolation: The action of restricting an animal to a location that is physically separate from other livestock. The purpose of isolating an animal is usually to prevent it from transmitting a disease to another animal, either because it is known to be diseased or because its disease status is currently unknown. The location is known as an isolation facility.

Known health status: The current state of health of the animal or the herd, including its condition and any disease(s) that the animal(s) may have or carry. Disease history, herd health management practices, vaccination program details, and housing and movement data contribute important information for determining health status and should be made available prior to purchase.

Modes of transmission: The physical or theoretical lines along which disease pathogens or materials potentially containing them are seen or are believed to move.

Other livestock: Animals other than dairy cattle.

Pastures: Fenced areas used for livestock grazing at any time of year. Can include multi-use fields (e.g. graze after haying or aftermath feeding).

Pathogen (also, "pathogenic"): A bacterium, virus, or other micro-organism that can cause disease.

Personnel: All full-time and part-time staff, plus any family members who work in the operation.

Pests: All non-livestock and non-domestic animals, birds, and insects that may pose a health risk, either disease or predatory, to the herd; domestic scavengers such as guardian animals and farm pets that have free access to the herd and most areas on the farm. For the purpose of this guide, pests refer to vermin and wildlife. Examples include rodents such as rats and mice, porcupines, raccoons, opossum, and skunks.

Practice: General procedure that is followed by the producer, and not necessarily documented or detailed to the extent of a protocol.

Premises: A singular term that refers to a contiguous property, including buildings and other additions, used in the National Standard to describe a dairy farm.

Primary location: The main or "home" farm where the home and/or business centre of the dairy operation is located.

Producer: One who owns or operates a farm, raising dairy cattle for producing milk and milk products.

Protocol: Defined and documented procedure designed to meet an objective.

Reportable disease: Any disease outlined in the Health of Animals Act and Reportable Diseases Regulations that, if an animal is contaminated with or suspected to be contaminated with, requires immediate notification to a CFIA district veterinarian. Specific control or eradication measures exist due to the potential significant impact on animal and/or human health and the Canadian economy. Examples include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis.

Restricted access zone: An area inside the controlled access zone where animals are housed and where access by people or equipment is further limited.

Sanitation: An overarching set of practices that reduce the presence of organic material and debris as well as the presence, survivability, and infectivity of disease agents.

Segregation: The act of physically separating animals, equipment, or vehicles to prevent contact and cross-contamination.

Transition zone: A designated location for the application of biosecurity procedures to people and equipment before entering a biosecurity zone (CAZ and/or RAZ).

Visitors: Any non-farm personnel that come to the premises, including in general use, service providers, unless specified otherwise. Examples include salespeople, delivery people, veterinarians, livestock haulers, artificial insemination or embryo technicians, and feed industry personnel.

Zoonosis/zoonotic disease: A disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals or to animals from humans. Examples include cryptosporidiosis and salmonellosis.

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