—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 4, 1972
22
Is Hog Cholera
Editor’s Note: The crusade to
end hog cholera as a threat to hog
producers in this country could
well be described as in the “mop
up” stage. The number of cases is
declining sharply. Use of vac
cines, which can in some in
stances spread the disease, have
been banned. Now that the
disease is “on the run,” so to
speak, it’s more important than
ever for producers to stop new
outbieaks in order that the
disease can be completely
eliminated. The following article
recently by Dr. D. R. Stauffer,
DMV, acting senior staff
veterinarian of Swine Disease
Programs, Animal and Plant
Health Service, U. S. Department
of Agriculture, offers advice to
help in the “mop-up” of hog
cholera:
Is hog cholera hiding in your
freezer or refrigerator?
The cooperative State-Federal
Hog Cholera Eradication
Program is moving into its final
phase. Hog cholera cases have
cropped from 679 in 1970 to 118 in
1971. Only 18 of last year’s cases
occurred within the last six
months.
Thirty-two States are hog
cholera-free as of January l, and
the remaining States and Puerto
Rico should qualify for that
status within the next year. The
Local Farmers Join Holstein Assn.
Pennsylvania, the second
largest dairy state in the Nor
theast, took the lead in the
number of new members
received by the Holstein-Friesian
Association of America at the
latest meeting of the board with
172 new individuals and firms.
New members include;
Lancaster County Abram G.
and John E. Barley, Washington
Boro, Christ L. Beiier, Ronks;
Elam S. Beiier, Gap; Enos R.
Buckwalter, Trust, Lancaster; J
Wilmer Conrad, Willow Street
Davis I. Glick, Gap; Paul K.
Harnish, Washington Boro;
Clifford W. and Marian K
Holloway, Peach Bottom; Ray B.
Keller, Mount Joy; Jonas B.
Lantz, Leola; Jonathan B. Lantz,
Gordonville; Michael S. Lapp,
Gordonville.
Amos F. Miller, Peach Bottom;
David E. Reiff, Ephrata; Eli L.
Stoltzfus, Lancaster; Isaac S.
Stoltzfus, Gap; Willow Valley
Farms, Inc., Willow Street;
Harold K. Witmer, Manheim.
Lebanon County Arnold
How long will meat and poultry
- fresh, processed or cooked -
keep its quality in your
refrigerator or freezer? For the
answers, get the U. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture’s “Meat and
Poultry Five” - a series of
booklets with many, many
helpful tips on how to handle and
care for fresh, processed and
cooked meats and poultry. For
copies of the “Meat and Poultry
Five,” write to: Information
Division, C&MS, U.S. Dept, of
Agriculture, 26 Federal Plaza
(Rm 1653), New York, NY 10007.
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only significant appearance of
the disease recently has been a
late-December outbreak in south
Texas.
With natural hog cholera in
fection so rare, this leaves two
main sources of the disease; (1)
illegal use or improper disposal
of vaccines, and (2) feeding of
improperly cooked, cholera
infected pork to swine.
Either of these could be lurking
in your freezer.
Since both are a potential
treat to the hog cholera
eradication program animal
health officials are concenred
that they be eliminated, not
forgotten.
Current eradication program
regulations and procedures
guard against the spread of
cholera in the field, but only the
cooperation of swine producers,
veterinarians and bologics users
can permantently eliminate
these long-lived sources of hog
cholera virus.
In recent months, officials of
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Service and the State Depart
ments of Agriculture have
launched a major effort to locate
every remaining stock of vac
cine, serum, or virus tissue
culture, and where possible
destroy them. Materials needed
for export, research, or
diagnostic work will be isolated
Acres, Inc., Lebanon; Robert R.
Lentz, Lebanon; Clarence B.
Stoner, Jonestown.
Chester County Ralph F.
Bronson, Phoenixville; Ruth R.
Engel, Parkesburg; William and
James Freese, Oxford; Thomas
E. McAfee, Glenmoore; Edwin C.
Lurking in Your Freezer?
from possible entry into swine
herds.
Nationwide inquiries have
turned up 600,000 doses of hog
cholera virus and vaccines,
located in 34 States. Most were
held by bological houses for ex
port; however, 72,316 doses were
destroyed, including all the virus
found in nine States.
Sixteen States reported finding
no virus in their search. In ad
dition to this progress, all bologics
manufacturers have voluntarily
given up their licenses to produce
hog cholera vaccines.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? But
animal health officials are still
concerned about the many
freezers and refrigerators not
covered so far in the search for
virus.
How many producers still have
some vaccine left over from
earlier days, when it was the only
way to guard against the
disease?
How many veterinarians or
pharmacists have supplies stuck
away and forgotten?
How many diagnostic and
research laboratories still have
virus stocks? How many still use
them in their work?
How many farmers have frozen
pork over a year old? Frozen
pork that could be fed to hogs in
garbage at some future date?
Questions like these do not let
Todd, Spring City.
York County Thomas A.
Boyer, York; David M. Gross,
Red Lion; Thomas E. Johnson,
Airville; Bessie M. Kimmel,
Dillsburg; Elvin G. and Irene
Molison, Hanover; Gladys B. Van
Lieu, Dillsburg.
leaders of the eradication
program sleep any better. As
long as potentially infected pork
and virulent bologics are abroad
in the land, hog cholera can
return.
What do you do about it?
Don’t feed raw garbage or pork
scraps to your hogs. If you do
practice garbage feeding, cook
all materials thoroughly.
Don’t dump or
dispose of old vaccines.
And under no circumstances
use vaccines on your swine—it’s
illegal and a good way to infect
your herd.
If you do have old vaccines,
contact State or Federal animal
health officials in your area.
Report the amount and
description of the material.
Officials will pick it up and have
it destroyed by one of the safe,
approved methods.
If it is impossible to arrange for
official collection of the virus or
vaccine, the material can be
destroyed in iti original con
tainer by one of three methods:
Autoclaving—Cook at a high
temperature in a pressure cooker
for a half-hour.
Incineration—Burn in a fur-
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nace or incinerator at a high
temperature.
Boiling—Boil for one half-hour
or longer. Report the amount
and type of materials destroyed.
However, the safest disposal is to
turn in the materials to State or
Federal animal health officials
for destruction.
Three national hog cholera
eradication committees and the
Ad Hoc Committee for Hog
Cholera Surveillance have all
pointed to the existence of hog
cholera virus stocks as a major
threat to the success of the
eradication effort. The only
permanent eradication is the one
in which there is NO source from
which the disease can get another
start.
Goal of the nationwide hog
cholera eradication program is a
hog cholera-free United States by
December 1972. The goal was set
nine years ago when many people
thought it couldn’t be done.
Now, it looks like we will come
very close—within a month or
two—if we all remain alert.
But the job is not yet done. Go
to your freezer of refrigerator ;
take a look. Are you hiding the
next case of hog cholera?
UNCASTER EORD
TRACTOR INC
2166 Willow Street Pike
Lancaster, Penna. Ph, 464-2746