Disinfectant-filled footbaths are the most commonly used infection control measures on livestock farms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of six commercial disinfectants, as used in footbaths on farms, for reducing Salmonella Typhimurium contamination of footwear. When used at the recommended concentrations, most disinfectants showed over 91% reduction efficacy in absence of organic matter. The greatest reductions were seen with oxidizing agents including potassium peroxymonosulfate-based products and sodium dichloroisocyanurate. These results suggest that disinfectant footbaths could be useful for reducing bacteria; however, footbaths should not be relied upon as the only method of controlling infectious pathogens. General good hygiene practice, for example cleanliness of boots, should be emphasized.

The efficacy of chemical disinfectants is reduced owing to the inactivation of active ingredients after dilution. This study investigated the effect of time on the efficacy of six different disinfectants, after dilution, against avian influenza virus. When used at the recommended concentration, most disinfectants showed efficacy at a high concentrations in the presence of organic materials immediately after dilution, while sodium dichloroisocyanurate-based products, after dilution, showed reduced efficacy over time at low concentrations in the absence of organic materials. Most disinfectants were neutralized by organic materials; however, this could be compensated for by increasing the product dosage. For successful decontamination in farms, disinfectants should be used at high concentrations in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations. Furthermore, the presence of organic materials must be taken into consideration, and diluted disinfectant solution should be prepared no more than a day before use.

Blood from livestock is a common by-product which is obtained in industrial slaughterhouses. Blood is mainly composed of three fractions, red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and plasma. Plasma contains about 8% proteins, which is mainly composed of albumin, globulins and fibrinogen. Hemoglobin is the major protein within whole blood including RBC. These proteins isolated from animal blood have been used in variety of industry such as food, medical, pharmaceutics, animal feed and laboratory. Initially, blood is sterile in healthy animals thus adequate blood collecting system helps to minimize the risk of contamination. In Europe, closed-draining systems are adopted and a high-quality blood product is produced. European Union lays down health rules as regard animal by-products and derived products called Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 which is improved to No 1069/2009. This regulation lays down strict animal and public health rules for the blood collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of all animal by-products. In spite of the significant using of blood from livestock, almost blood from slaughtering is considered a waste except only small part for use and causes a serious environmental pollution in Korea. Because of the environmental pollution by blood from slaughterhouse, the great expense is loosed, and blood-related products are small and are imported from foreign countries in Korea. For successful blood utilization, suitable infrastructure facilities are needed to control microbial contamination of blood from slaughterhouses and more specific plans on animal blood control may be established at the same time.