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

SIMPLE SUMMARY: 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. ABSTRACT: In livestock, the importance of hygiene management is gaining importance within the context of biosecurity. The aim of this study was to monitor the implementation of biosecurity and hygiene procedures in 20 swine herds over a 12-month period, as driven by tailor-made plans, including training on-farm. The measure of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) environmental contents was used as an output biomarker. 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 sentinels of antibiotic resistance. A significant biosecurity improvement (p = 0.006) and a reduction in the ATP content in the sanitised environment (p = 0.039) were observed. A cluster including 6/20 farms greatly improved both biosecurity and ATP contents, while the remaining 14/20 farms ameliorated them only slightly. Even if the ESBL-E. coli prevalence (30.0%) after the hygiene procedures significantly decreased, the prevalence of LA-MRSA (22.5%) was unaffected. Despite the promising results supporting the adoption of tailor-made biosecurity plans and the measure of environmental ATP as an output biomarker, the high LA-MRSA prevalence still detected at the end of the study underlines the importance of improving even more biosecurity and farm hygiene in a one-health approach aimed to preserve also the pig workers health.