Putting the sole of your shoe in a bucket of disinfectant is not enough to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth, a leading vet has warned. Prof P.J. Quinn, of UCD's faculty of veterinary medicine, said farmers had to ensure they had adequate disinfection measures in place.
He said merely dipping the sole of a shoe into a small bucket of disinfectant, or having a shallow mat at a farm entrance was not adequate.
Waterproof footwear should be worn by farmers and others working on farms. These should be immersed, up to the ankles, in a bucket of disinfectant for at least a minute. An approved disinfectant must also be used, which could be purchased from farm suppliers. Disinfectant should be replaced regularly - once a day on farms.
Home-made disinfectants can also be made. The Department of Agriculture says a solution of washing soda at 5 per cent dilution or citric acid at .2 per cent dilution will suffice.
Disinfectant material must be placed at the entrance to farms. Foam rubber should be soaked in disinfectant. Prof Quinn says this is good material, as it can hold a lot of disinfectant. A shallow mat does not retain enough disinfectant.
Prof Quinn said the foam rubber should be at least 10 cm deep and 2 m wide. The foam should also be of adequate length to allow a full rotation of a vehicle wheel. Farmers should tailor the size of their foam-rubber mat to the types of vehicles using the farm. Tractor wheels, for example, may need a foam rubber length of seven metres. Waterproof clothing should also be worn on farms - this can easily be sprayed with disinfectant.
Other clothing which may be used on farms, such as boiler suits, should be boiled for around 20 minutes.