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A column to update hog producers on the
- Pennsylvania Pseudorabies Eradication Program.
GEOGRAPHY AND
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
IN PENNSYLVANIA
SWINE HERDS
CAN THEY EXPLAIN
THE SPREAD OF
PSEUDORABIES VIRUS
IN SOUTHEAST
PENNSYLVANIA?
Dr. William M. Sischo
Assistant Professor
Department Of
Veterinary Science
Penn State
Producers and veterinarians are
often stymied in understanding
why one farm is susceptible to cer
tain diseases while neighboring
farms are not.
Differences in geography, ani
mal genetics, and farm manage
ment are the most likely reasons
why some farms are affected and
others are disease-free.
Pseudorabies is a disease that
has plagued Pennsylvania swine
producers for many years, and the
way it spreads between farms is
still a mystery. Although some
farm infections can be traced to
animal movement, most infections
cannot be explained.
The most common explanation
for a new herd infection is
unknown. Dr. Bill Sischo, Ms.
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Heather Norman, and Ms. Carol
Bums, from Penn Slates Depart
ment of Veterinary Science, are
interested in trying to find answers
to the pseudorabies mystery.
Beginning in late July, approxi
mately 700 managers and owners
of swine herds will receive a mail
survey. The survey will ask ques
tions about pseudorabies vaccina
tion programs, herd biosecurity,
animal movement, farm manage
ment, and location. There will be
approximately 30 questions and
should take less than IS minutes to
fill out.
Importantly, all the information
on this questionnaire will be-confi
dential. For this survey to be suc
cessful, Penn State personnel will
need your cooperation in answer
ing the question which indicates
whether or not you’ve been
affected with pseudorabies.
The information from this
survey will be combined with
information that has already been
collected by Drs. Amy Nesselrodt
and Paul Pilcher from USDA.
These data' should add to the
pseudorabies eradication effect in
Pennsylvania and help identify the
schemes that will be
most helpful in stopping the spread
of pseudorabies in Pennsylvania.
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Pseudorabies Will Be Eradicated
By 1999, Says USDA
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. By
June 1999, the nation will achieve
the goal of eradicating swine
pseudorabies, a costly acute viral
disease, if current trends continue
a federal health official reported at
the 130th annual convention of the
American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA), July IW-2X,
at the Minneapolis Convention
Center.
“For the first time ever, the total
number of swine herds infected
with pseudorabies has started to
drop,” said Joseph F. Annelli,
M.S., D.V.M., of the U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service,
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NORCROSS, Ga. Last
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Massey Ferguson continued as the
best-selling tractor brand in west
ern world markets.
‘This is the 30lh consecutive
year Massey Ferguson has earned
this leadership position,” said
Graeme Leonard, vice president,
Massey Ferguson North American
Operations, “and preliminary fig
ures for last year show the com
pany maintained its lead in world
tractor sales, outstripping its near
est rival by more than 40 percent.”
In a harsh global environment
of shrinking markets and intensi
fied competition in 1992, total in
dustry sales of tractors in the
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Annelli attributed the success of
the fight against pseudorabies to
clean up plans started as part of a
cooperative effort of the swine
industry, state, and federal gov
ernments to eradicate the disease
by the year 2000.
For the past three years, the pre
valence of swine pseudorabies has
been declining in most states.
“The reason for these trends is that
more and more herds are on clean
up plans,” Dr. Annelli said.
Adult infected swine can
become virus carriers without
showing any outward signs of
pseudorabies and may pass the
world outside the former USSR
and Eastern Europe territories fell
about 2.S percent from 1991 lev
els. By contrast, Massey Ferguson
succeeded in offsetting the indus
try decline, increasing its sales ap
proximately 6.5 percent
In 1993, Massey Ferguson is
also marking the 75th anniversary
of the start of its tractor produc
tion; the 60lh anniversary of Harry
Ferguson’s first prototype Fergu
son System tractor (now in the
Science Museum, London); and
the 40lh anniversary of the merger
between Harry Ferguson and Mas
sey-Harris to form the basis of the
present-day Massey Ferguson
group.
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disease through the herd. Infected
sows are likely to abort fetuses or
produce stillborn or weak litters.
Infected baby pigs are usually
severely ill and often die.
In addition, pseudorabies sup
presses the animal’s immune sys
tem, increasing the infected pig’s
susceptibility to other diseases,
particularly respiratory diseases
such as pneumonia.
The U.S. swine industry spends
$2l million annually on vaccines
for pseudorabies. While the vac
cine does not cure the disease, it
limits the transmission of virus
within the herd and prevents clini
cal signs. However, producers
with infected herds still suffer
additional, incalculable losses due
to animals’ increased susceptibili
ty to respiratory diseases.
Achievement of all the techno
logical needs to complete the
pseudorabies eradication process
will be feasible, “if we have the
will to do it,” George W. Bera.,
D.V.M., of lowa State University,
Ames, lA, said in a separate
presentation.
These technological needs,
according to Dr. Beran, include:
• Cost-effective surveillance in
high density swine population
states.
• Development of effective
national slaughter surveillance.
• Effective swine identification
and traceback.
• Laboratory techniques to
detect recombinant vaccine
field virus strains.
• Control of the reservoir in fer
al (wild) swine.
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