Swine practitioners are reporting unusual clinical presentations and unusual organisms in the Clinical Impression Surveys and producers can help by being on the look-out for:
- Skin lesions such as blisters on snouts, legs, or other parts of the pig; discoloring of the skin,
- Sudden death in any age group,
- Increased diarrhea, or
- Any unusual signs
and contact your swine practitioner if you see these signs.
Unusual and rare swine health conditions
Some swine health conditions have come to our attention they were organisms new to the region or an unusual presentation of known diseases. Typical for such conditions is that the factors (such as organisms) that contribute to the disease are not fully understood or there may be many factors at play.
Some organisms (new to the region) may have trade impact (Seneca Valley Virus, SVV) and others may have detrimental impact on production (Streptococcus equii zooepidemicus). Therefore, we need to be vigilant and build knowledge to be prepared to minimize the impact on the swine sector and individual producers.
Case story Streptococcus equii zooepidemicus
In September, a 5,000-sow operation in Alberta was diagnosed with Streptococcus equii zooepidemicus. This case has had high sow mortality about 300 sows (in a 4-month period). Exposure under treatment from October to December failed as control measure. S zoo caused sudden death – 12 hours from sows go off feed to death. Therefore, the disease is easy to miss in the early stages where treatment may be effective. The experience is that S zoo is slow-moving disease requiring nose-to-nose contact.
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) in Manitoba
A total of 128 premises have been declared positive for PED since October 2021. The last new case was 31 October 2022 where the status was revoked on a finisher operation in Buffer 2 (high-risk area). There are (still) 43 active cases (24 January 2023).
Seneca Valley Virus (SVV)
In summer 2022, SVV caused a disruption in flow of cull sows to slaughter in the USA. Therefore, in CWSHIN, we observe the Skin syndrome and SVV more closely now. The surveillance for SVV at assembly yards has been ramped up and as a side effect we have seen an increase in laboratory positives for greasy pig (July to December).