Disinfecting mats, types and their application

Disinfection mats are placed at the entrances, exits and at the entrances and exits from the farm.

Disinfection mats are divided into transitional disinfection mats and passage disinfection mats.

Drive-through disinfection mats are designed to disinfect the wheels of vehicles that enter or leave the farm.

Transitional disinfection mats are intended for disinfecting shoes of people who enter or leave the farm.

The transition and passage disinfection mats do not differ in terms of structure and thickness. The difference, however, is in their length and width.

Pass-through disinfection mats, as you might guess, are much larger than pass-through disinfection mats. As you know, passage mats must be long enough for the wheels of the vehicles passing over them to make at least one full turn while passing over the mat.

Transition mats are usually smaller, as it is enough for shoes to fit over them. However, it is best if they are large enough that you cannot avoid them or jump over them while walking.

It is worth adding that in some regions the veterinary services have precisely defined the minimum dimensions of disinfection mats.

It should be emphasized that the passage disinfection mats effectively protect the farm against the ASF virus.

Due to the high effectiveness of drive-through mats in stopping African swine fever, these mats should be supplied to every pig house. When buying, however, it is worth remembering that the dimensions of the disinfection mats must correspond to the dimensions of the wheels of the vehicles that will run through them.

It is necessary to remember that these mats should be long enough so that the wheels of passing vehicles could make at least one full turn while driving through them.

The ASF virus can also spread to the clothing and footwear of pig farm workers. The solution will be the use of disinfection mats to disinfect shoes.

Disinfection mats for disinfecting shoes are also known as transitional disinfection mats, entrance disinfection mats or exit disinfection mats.

The structure of the disinfection mats for shoes does not differ from the passage disinfection mats. However, they are significantly smaller than them.

They are usually 60 by 60 centimeters, although they also come in larger sizes.

Often they are adapted to the size of the door in front of which they are placed - this reduces the likelihood of the mat being missed entering the room. In some areas, the recommended sizes of transition disinfection mats have been determined by district veterinarians operating in the area.

Due to the frequent change of regulations, before buying a mat, it is worth finding out if there are any recommendations regarding the size of mats in a given area.

Pass-through disinfection mats as well as pass-through disinfection mats should be included in every pig house.