Pig Health
Exotic and Emerging Diseases
CODE RED – The risk to the pig industry from exotic and emerging diseases is at its highest level since 2001 with African Swine Fever spreading West out of Russia and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea spreading with devastating speed through North America. The threat of Foot and Mouth Disease is ever present.
Outbreaks of notifiable disease would do serious harm to the industry and lead to closure of export markets which could take significant time to reopen. New non-notifiable diseases could spread rapidly and become endemic with long-term effects on production efficiency and welfare as previously seen with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS).
Currently there is no effective vaccine for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea and limited control options – very like the situation that existed after the introduction of PRRS/blue ear and PMWS.
The Pig Health and Welfare Council Surveillance Subgroup Exotic and Emerging Diseases Roundtable in April 2014 developed a series of recommendations to strengthen the UK pig industry’s defences against the introduction of new and notifiable diseases and to improve preparedness to quickly identify, contain and eliminate any new disease agents introduced. The full list of recommendations will be published here shortly. For further information please contact [email protected]
PHWC Surveillance presentations
Click here for information on PEDv
Click here for information on African Swine Fever
