The hog industry has its share of issues and challenges, the least of which is not the different diseases that keep popping up and herd health.

Dr. Amy Snow, the National Manager of the Foreign Animal Disease Program, part of the Animal Health Directorate of the CFIA says the agency’s investigation into an incident involving Seneca Valley Virus will continue until any risk of foreign animal disease is ruled out.

In response to incidents recently where Canadian origin sows exported to the U.S. were found to have vesicular lesions the CFIA launched a foreign animal disease investigation.

Dr. Snow says on September 13, the USDA informed the CFIA that 13 sows of Canadian Origin exported to the U.S. for slaughter had vesicular lesions and the U.S. refused entry of two loads of sows on September 14, when the same types of lesions were identified at the port of entry.

“The USDA testing results were negative for any foreign animal diseases of concern that can present the same way as Seneca Valley Virus but Seneca Valley Virus was detected in some of the samples,” said Snow. “At this point in time the CFIA’s own investigation to determine the movements of the implicated animals is ongoing. The CFIA is not tracking SCV or Seneca Valley Virus directly.”

Dr. Snow says the agency is responsible for responding to foreign animal diseases with similar clinical signs. Seneca Valley Virus is not a reportable disease in Canada or the World Organization for Animal Health.

“However, as the clinical signs and lesions of Seneca Valley Virus are identical to other diseases of concern, rapid investigation is absolutely imperative in every case,” she said. “Swine presenting with signs similar to foreign animal diseases of concern, for example Foot and Mouth Disease, must be treated as such until these diseases can be ruled out by the CFIA.”

Dr. Snow says it’s important for producers to report any suspicion of Seneca Valley Virus to their herd veterinarian and CFIA so that further investigation can pursue to ensure the rapid rule out of foreign animal diseases of concern.

Dr. Egan Brockhoff, the Veterinary Counsel with the Canadian Pork Council, advises pork producers to be watching closely for symptoms of Seneca Valley Virus and avoid shipping any pigs with signs of the infection.

Recently the United States Department of Agriculture informed the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that 13 Canadian origin sows exported to the U.S. in six separate loads for slaughter had vesicular lesions and two loads of sows were refused entry into the U.S. the next day when vesicular lesions were identified at the port of entry triggering investigations in both countries.

Dr. Egan Brockhoff says while foreign animal disease tests ruled out Foot and Mouth Disease, Seneca Valley Virus was identified.

“The greatest concern is that this virus presents identically to Foot and Mouth Disease virus so it causes disruptions in hog transport, it causes disruptions in processing and it causes disruptions of shipments from farms to other various sites,” he said. “So we really need pork producers to pay very close attention to animals before they’re getting shipped and moved to markets and certainly in particular their cull sows as well as their feeder pigs and nursery pigs.

Look for signs of lameness, look for signs of redness around the snout and around the mouth, pigs going off feed. If we can prevent those pigs from getting loaded, then we can prevent these disruptions in market and transport and so on and so forth.”

Dr. Brockhoff says at this time pork producers must just be aware of what the clinical signs are. If they see anything suspicious, please contact their herd veterinarian and then the veterinarian, at that time, can make the determination whether they should bring in the CFIA immediately and get some testing done to determine if it’s actually a foreign animal disease or just this disruptive Seneca Valley Virus. “The prevalence of Seneca Valley Virus in Canada is not known but it has popped up sporadically since 2015,” he said. •

— By Harry Siemens

Swine Vesicular Disease – Fact Sheet

What is swine vesicular disease?

Swine vesicular disease (SVD) is a contagious viral disease of pigs characterized by fever and vesicles (fluid-filled blisters) in the mouth and on the snout, feet and teats. The vesicular lesions are undistinguishable to the naked eye from those caused by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The illness varies in severity but is rarely fatal.

Is SVD a risk to human health?

No. The disease does not affect humans. However, rare cases of accidental human infection have been reported in laboratory personnel working with the virus.

What are the clinical signs of SVD?

The visible signs of this disease may easily be confused with those of FMD and include: • fever and loss of appetite; • sudden appearance of lameness in several animals in close contact; • limping, an uncomfortable appearance, or a refusal to move on hard surfaces; • vesicles (fluid-filled blisters) on the snout, feet, mouth, tongue and teats; • vesicular ruptures, leaving erosive lesions; and • foot pads may become loosened or a loss of hoof may occur. Young animals are more severely affected. Recovery occurs usually within one to three weeks, with little to no mortality.

How is SVD transmitted and spread?

The disease is spread primarily through contact with infected swine, or through a contaminated environment, as the virus is extremely resistant in the environment. The virus can also survive in pork and processed pork products for extended periods of time, so the feeding of contaminated food scraps can result in transmission of the virus.

More information available on CFIA’s website. •