Farmscape for October 31, 2022
| Full Interview 6:22 | Listen  |
The Swine Health Information Center is monitoring developments related to an undiagnosed infection that has resulted in mortality and morbidity in pigs in Ecuador. As part of its October enewsletter the Swine Health Information Center looks at a recently identified swine disease in Ecuador. SHIC Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg explains, although both African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever have been ruled out, the infection is still something of a mystery.
Clip-Dr. Paul Sundberg-Swine Health Information Center:
There was an article in ProMED, it’s a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, and that article was published in late September that said that early in September there was the identification of a different type of disease in Ecuador. I don’t want to use the term emerging or mystery disease but it was a disease that was causing some mortality and morbidity in pigs that was lacking a good diagnosis. The interesting as well as concerning thing is that that morbidity and mortality, even though it was reported in September, had happened eight months earlier. Apparently there has been on going concern in Ecuador about that outbreak and about reporting it now.
Within the subsequent eight months there has been testing of the area in Ecuador where this outbreak occurred and the Ecuadorian government has reported that testing has been negative for both Classical Swine Fever as well as for African Swine Fever. It’s an ongoing situation right now and it’s one that we’re monitoring very closely because of the lack of a definitive diagnosis.
Even though testing for Classical Swine Fever has been negative, immunization for Classical Swine Fever is underway in the affected regions and there are plans for expanded immunization. Dr. Sundberg says SHIC will continue to monitor the situation in Ecuador while a definitive diagnosis for the sick pigs is being sought.
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