AIG-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Novamber 24,1984
USDA issues PRY pilot project report
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Prelimi
nary reports of a five-state
pseudorabies eradication project
indicate that pseudorabies can be
eradicated from swine herds,
although it is not certain they will
remain disease-free if there are
infected herds nearby, a U.S.
Department of Agriculture official
said today.
The five participating states are
Illinois, lowa, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Pseudorabies, also known as
Aujeszky’s disease or “mad itch,”
is a virus disease of swine that is
almost always fatal to newborn
pigs. Swine can transmit the
disease to most other warm
blooded animals, but not to
humans.
“Between April 1983 and March
1984 the states-with support from
the pork industry-joined USDA to
evaluate practical techniques for
eliminating pseudorabies,” said
Bert W. Hawkins, administrator of
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
“With the pilot projects
scheduled for completing next
September, we are about midway
in our evaluations,” he said.
According to Hawkins, par
ticipating states and industry
representatives have been in
ventive to developing methods to
clean up individual herds. “What
remains to be seen is whether a
specific geographical area can be
freed of the disease and remain
free if there is disease in adjacent
areas.”
Hawkins said three methods are
currently used to eliminate in
fection: segregating offspring that
are uninfected while gradually
eliminating the rest of the herd,
testing individual animals and
removing those that react to the
diagnostic test, and slaughtering
the entire herd and restocking with
clean animals.
“Another possible tool, vac
cination, is being evaluated in 71
lowa herds-both those that are
known to be infected and those that
are pseudorabies-free,” he said.
Hawkins said a major challenge
in the fight against pseudorabies is
developing effective methods for
identifying swine so that individual
animals can be traced back to their
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herd of origin. “New vinyl
backtags have shown some
promise for maintaining a pig’s
identity through slaughter.
“Another initiative appears less
successful, however. A
pseudorabies skin test evaluated in
Illinois did not accurately detect
the disease.”
The five states are determining
the costs of various eradication
techniques and comparing them
with losses incurred by producers
who take no action. Formal
economic studies are underway in
lowa and Illinois, about the begin
in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,
and under consideration in North
Carolina, Hawkins said.
Individual states report the
following activities:
In ILLINOIS AND lOWA, animal
health specialists and traveling to
farms in selected counties to
determine the disease status of
swine herds and to eliminate
problems where they exist. Par
ticipation by owners is voluntary.
ILLINOIS: All but two of the 145
herd owners in the participating
townships agreed to take part in
the pilot project. Thirty herds were
found to be infected. One Illinois
herd that was free of disease on an
initial test became infected with
pseudorabies, apparently because
the producer hauled swine feed in a
truck used earlier for hauling dead
pigs. So far, 11 herds have been
released from quarantine after
becoming pseudorabies-free.
To Lancaster W
To support the eradication
program, Illinois state officials
and the swine industry made funds
available to indemnify owners who
used the slaughter-and-restock
method to remove infection. Ef
fective Feb. 15, a new state law will
require anyone selling feeder
swine in Illinois to test a portion of
the breeder herd for pseudorabies.
IOWA: lowa officials report
participation by all but one of the
212 herds within the project
boundaries in Marshall County.
Testing for pseudorabies has been
completed in all but six of the
herds, and 31 were found to be
infected. Six herds are now free of
the disease; three herds became
reinfected when infected feeder
pigs were brought in. State of
ficials expect most, if not all, the
herds to be disease-free in 1986.
In NORTH CAROLINA, PENN
SYLVANIA and WISCONSIN,
pseudorabies infection is being
located by drawing blood samples
at slaughter plants and testing
them for the disease. Samples
showing antibodies are traced
back to the herd of origin. In
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,
owners of infected herds are
required to take active steps to
eliminate infection; this work is
not mandatory in North Carolina.
NORTH CAROLINA: North
Carolina had 44 infected herds,
seven of which were found through
slaughter traceback. Owners of 20
herds decided to eradicate the
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problem by testing the animals
and sending reactors to slaughter.
Quarantines have been released
for 12 herds.
PENNSYLVANIA: Penn
sylvania had 28 infected herds, 11
of which were found through
slaughter traceback. Officials
report that 17 of the infected
premises are feedlots that finish
animals originating from infected
breeding herds. This procedure
helps breeding herds clean up
more rapidly. Pseudorabies
eradication in 26 herds is being
done through slaughter and
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restocking. Two herds have
completed the process and have
been released from quarantine.
One other infected farm, which
removed only reactor swine, also
successfully eliminated the in
fection and was released from
quarantine.
WISCONSIN; Wisconsin had 14
infected herds, and no new ones
have been found through slaughter
sampling. Owners of six herds
have developed plans to eliminate
all animals and restock, and one
has completed this process.
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