AMOUNT OF TIME TO ALLOW: 60 minutes. Extension activities will take additional time.

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1 STATE SCIENCE STANDARDS: 8th Grade Health: 7.0.D.1 Describe risk factors and behaviors that influence contraction and transmission of communicable diseases. GOAL STATEMENT: Students will have a general understanding of biosecurity and work in teams to research and develop a biosecurity plan for an assigned hypothetical livestock production facility and present a report to the class. OBJECTIVES: Students will define the term biosecurity. Students will be able to make personal connections to the term biosecurity with security measures in relation to their everyday life. Students will research steps that producers can take to maximize biosecurity. Students will create a biosecurity plan for a hypothetical farm. Students will report findings to the class. REQUIRED MATERIALS: Healthy/Unhealthy Animal Photographs (also included as PowerPoint presentation) Description of Unhealthy Animals Teacher Key Agree/Disagree Activity Teacher Key Hypothetical Livestock Production Facility Scenarios Teacher Key One Minute Mysteries worksheet Markers, Colored Pencils, etc. Chart Paper or Poster Board AMOUNT OF TIME TO ALLOW: 60 minutes. Extension activities will take additional time.

2 From viruses to bacteria, coccidia to fungi, diseases can be a problem. For this reason, it is important for facilities like schools - and even farms - to have a plan in place that details how the spread of disease will be prevented. This set of guidelines called a biosecurity plan. Biosecurity is a set of management practices that reduce the potential for the introduction and spread of disease-causing organisms onto and between sites. In schools, hand sanitizer is available for use, cafeterias follow strict food safety guidelines, and janitors clean regularly. Just like schools, farms must also implement practices that prevent disease. Disease can spread to people and animals through contaminated food, water, housing, equipment, air, or even from the animals and people themselves. Modern biosecurity techniques are a key element in disease control, providing a safer and healthier environment for livestock. Since each farm is different, there is no "one size fits all" biosecurity plan. Biosecurity is a way of thinking as well as the adoption of a set of practices that farm owners, managers, and employees maintain in order to prevent the introduction of new pathogens (disease-causing organisms) into a herd and to limit the spread of already established pathogens within a herd. 10 minutes Ask the students what does the phrase biosecurity mean? To begin the discussion, ask students to think of biosecurity as the term relates to people and schools. Have students think of some other ways that we keep ourselves safe from disease in school and write them on the board (i.e. washing hands, cooking food thoroughly, Lysol wipes, etc.). Next, suggest that they apply those same specifics to livestock production and biosecurity on farms and ranches. (See sample script provided). Have students break into small groups and use the picture cards to look at healthy and unhealthy animals. Have them discuss how you can tell if an animal is healthy or not in their groups before coming back as a class to talk about their ideas and discuss specific diseases infecting the animals pictured (provided). Also discuss how students think diseases can be spread. If desired, use true/false activity (provided) to help discussion. Finally, have students complete One Minute Mysteries worksheet by providing details and telling what went wrong in each scenario.

3 30 minutes Directions: Develop a biosecurity plan for one of the hypothetical situations provided, or refer to an actual livestock production facility with which the students are familiar. Steps to follow: 1. Divide students into groups of 2 or 3 and provide instructions for the activity. Biosecurity plans should include items such as: isolation of incoming animals, control of human and vehicular traffic in and around the facility, changing clothes and boots after contact with livestock, and rodent, bird, and insect control. 2. Have youth draw a map of the facility that includes at least 5 biosecurity measures and indicates where at the facility they are to be implemented. 3. Tell students to think about where animals live and eat minutes Have each group present an overview of their plan to the class. For each presentation, ask youth which parts of their plan are most important for creating a secure environment and why. Also be sure that the following points are covered: 1. Definition of biosecurity. Biosecurity is the term used for practices that keep livestock from contracting diseases from herd mates or from livestock on other farms. 2. At least two reasons why diseased animals cost producers money. Increased mortality, reduced performance, increased medication costs. 3. Four ways diseases can travel from farm to farm. New herd additions, animal waste on boots or clothing including manure, secretions, hair, manure in or on dirty trucks, birds, rodent, insects, or by air. 1. Contact a local large-scale livestock operation, preferably poultry or swine if available. Ask them to share their biosecurity plan and how they developed it. 2. Contact a local large animal veterinarian to speak on farm biosecurity. 3. Have students think about how diseases can be transmitted via pets. 4. Have students take their research a step further to investigate bioterrorism.

4 Have students list possible careers in Agriculture including descriptions that would relate to the topic area of this lesson plan. Possibilities might include: US Department of Agriculture (USDA) specialist Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) specialist Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) specialist Farm manager Large production farm worker Farm contractor to large livestock operations (i.e. chicken farms) Agriculture or food scientist University researcher Veterinarian or vet technician A pre/post test should be completed with the lesson plan. Student understanding of concepts can also be evaluated through class discussion as well as through evaluation of completed activity data sheets. Analysis/ conclusion questions that are answered incorrectly by a large number of students should be addressed in a follow-up discussion. National Biosecurity Center for Animal Health Emergencies. Security Guide for Pork Producers. < This site includes a helpful resource containing an overview of biosecurity in a specific operation. Poultry Facility Biosecurity. John B. Carey, J. Fred Prochaska, Joan S. Jeffrey. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, The Texas A&M University System. <gallus.tamu.edu/library/extpublications/l-5182.pdf>

5 Description of Unhealthy Animals Use these to explain unhealthy animal picture cards students sorted. Conjunctivitis Pink eye. Inflammation of the membrane in eyelid and eye. Contagious. Wart Infestation Usually more of an appearance problem than a physical problem. Contagious, but warts normally fall off after a few months. Poor Body Condition Underweight, bones and joints showing more than they should. Not contagious unless it is a symptom of a different underlying problem. Mange Caused by infestation of mites. Contagious, and one form can be spread to humans. Bottle Jaw Hardened swelling beneath the jaw often caused by worms. Bottle jaw itself is not contagious, but worms and other parasites are. Caseous Lymphiditis Affected lymph nodes swell, rupture, and drain. Affects sheep and goats and is also called abscesses. Chronic contagious disease. Ring Worm Caused by fungus. More of an appearance problem than a physical problem. Contagious and can also affect humans. Sore Mouth Painful scabby sores on lips and gums but may be transferred to other body parts. Contagious and can also affect humans. Prolapse Tissues normally inside the body turn inside out and bulge out of the body. Not contagious, but a serious health concern. Scrapies Degenerative brain disease that affects sheep and goats. Results in trembling and stumbling before the animal s ultimate demise. Lethargic Lacking energy. Usually a symptom of an underlying disease. Atrophic Rhinitis Presents as sneezing and nasal discharge in young pigs. Nose twists, shortens, and wrinkles. Contagious. Hernia A tear in the body that allows organs to move to incorrect spots. Most often needs to be surgically repaired by a veterinarian. Not contagious.

6 Agree/Disagree Activity Have students all stand in a central part of the room. Determine one area of the room as the agree area and another portion of the room as a disagree area. Read one of the agree/disagree statements. Students will move to the area of the room that reflects their answer. Have students share and discuss why they agree or disagree with the statement. Repeat for all of the statements. It is a good idea to wash your hands after you pet your friend s cat before you pet your own. (True Your friend s cat could have an unknown illness that you would not want to transfer from cat to cat. It is a good health practice to wash your hands anytime after you pet an animal). When you bring a new dog home, it is okay for it to drink out of the same water bowl as your other dog. (False The new dog may have an illness that you are not yet aware of, and the water bowl could act to transmit the pathogen). If you notice your dog has been acting like it might be sick, it is still okay to take him to the dog park. (False Your dog could spread disease (even if it is only showing beginning signs of a disease) through the air or by coming in contact with an object or another dog). If a new animal looks healthy, and its previous owner said it was healthy, there s no need to quarantine (keep it separate from other animals for a period of time) it. (False Infected/diseased animals can look perfectly healthy before signs present themselves. It is ALWAYS a good idea to keep new animals away from original animals for a period of time). When introducing a new animal into a herd, it is important to separate that animal from other animals (quarantine) on the farm. (True A quarantine period is a good opportunity to make sure the animal does not have any conditions that you were unaware of before it has a chance to be transmitted to the rest of the herd). Because bottle jaw (the hard swelling under the jaw of goats) is not contagious, it is not important to separate animals who have it from animals that do not. (False Bottle jaw is caused by internal parasites or worms, which are contagious. The goat s caretaker should worm all of the goats that may have come in contact with it and separate the affected and the unaffected until they are no longer ill). Sore mouth is only a disease that affects sheep s mouths. (False Sore mouth can be transmitted to other body parts that come in contact with the sores and can even be transmitted to humans).

7 One Minute Mysteries! Read the following scenarios and determine what went wrong and how it could have been prevented. (HINT: More than one thing may be wrong.) Max owns a large horse barn. He often hosts shows, and although his flyers require all of the visiting horses to be up to date on their shots, he normally does not check them. In fact, he knows some of his friends horses aren t up to date, but he trusts that his friends make sure their horses are healthy before they take them anywhere. Max is also very friendly with loaning out his horse trailer and lets whoever needs to borrow it use it whenever they want. They don t even need to clean it! He notices that his horses seem to be getting sick a lot more often now than they did before he had shows. Lexi likes to walk her neighbors dogs to earn some extra money on the weekends. To save time, she often walks more than one at a time. She carries one portable water bowl for them on hot days, and since they all get along well they all just drink out of the same bowl. One of the dogs she walked had a runny nose, but she figured that it was just allergies and walked it like normal. A few days later, all of the dogs she walks were sick. Taylor owns two horses that live in a pasture by her house. They are the only horses in the area, and they never travel. However, Taylor takes lessons on horses at a different barn and often rides her friends horses as well. She wears the same boots with whichever horse she rides. She has one set of brushes and tack that she uses on whichever horse she is riding that day, and she only cleans the brushes when they are really dirty. Out of the blue, her normally healthy horses are coughing and have runny eyes.

8 Hypothetical Livestock Production Facility Scenarios Consider putting scenarios on index cards to be passed out to groups of students. You operate a large poultry farm that contracts with a large scale integrated chicken processing company. Your farm has three chicken houses and receives regular health inspections from the company. You have a small alpaca farm that focuses on selling fiber for crafts and breeding stock. You are also involved in agritourism and have frequent visitors to the farm. You have a small swine operation with around 80 sows (females). Your facility is in a very rural area and is more than 30 years old. You operate a dairy farm, milking approximately 200 cows daily. There are not many outside visitors, except for daily visits from the milk hauler, your 5 employees, and occasional visits from the veterinarian, hoof trimmer, milk inspector, and salespeople. You own and operate a beef farm of about 200 cattle. The cattle are in a rotational grazing pattern, spending most time outside. You sell breeding stock and also buy feeder calves in the spring every spring for fall resale.

9 1. How old are you? 3. Are you.(select ALL that apply.) PRE-Evaluation: Down and Dirty With Biosecurity African American/Black Asian Hispanic/Latino Native American/Alaskan Native Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander White Other 4. What type of school do you go to? (Select one.) Public School Private School Religious school (Catholic, etc.) Home School Your Science and Agriculture Opinions and Knowledge 2. Are you.(select one.) A Boy Strongly Disagree Disagree A Girl 5. BEFORE going through the AGsploration Program, please circle the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements. Agree I like science I feel that Maryland agriculture is a part of science Science is useful for solving everyday problems Strongly Agree Maryland agriculture is beneficial to me, my family, and my community. When I graduate from high school, I would like to have a job in agricultural science I can name three jobs in the agriculture industry BEFORE going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below. None Low Medium High Maryland agriculture Biosecurity Ways disease travels between farms Practices used to keep animals healthy Identifying a healthy and/or sick animal Very High

10 POST-Evaluation: Down and Dirty with Biosecurity Your Science and Agriculture Opinions and Knowledge 5. AFTER going through the AGsploration Program, please circle the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree I like science I feel that Maryland agriculture is a part of science Strongly Agree Science is useful for solving everyday problems Maryland agriculture is beneficial to me, my family, and my community. When I graduate from high school, I would like to have a job in agricultural science I can name three jobs in the agriculture industry AFTER going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below. None Low Medium High Maryland agriculture Biosecurity Ways disease travels between farms Practices used to keep animals healthy Identifying a healthy and/or sick animal As a result of participating in this activity, tell one new thing you will try or one thing you will find information about. Very High

11 SUPPLEMENTAL - Evaluation: Down and Dirty with Biosecurity Directions: If you are teaching more than one lesson plan in one day, you may attach this to the pre/post evaluation form for the other lesson you are teaching. Please have the student fill out these during the pre and post evaluation times. In addition, only have the student fill out the post evaluation questions Q5 Q7 at the completion of all lessons. PRE-Evaluation BEFORE going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below. None Low Medium High Very High Maryland agriculture Biosecurity Ways disease travels between farms Practices used to keep animals healthy Identifying a healthy and/or sick animal POST-Evaluation AFTER going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below. None Low Medium High Very High Maryland agriculture Biosecurity Ways disease travels between farms Practices used to keep animals healthy Identifying a healthy and/or sick animal