March 8, 2006

Mystery disease killing piglets on New Zealand farms

New Zealand farmers began examining pigs on Mar 7 to identify a mystery disease that is killing young pigs on South Island farms, officials said.

The Pork Industry Board has sent samples from about six affected farms in central Canterbury to an independent laboratory for analysis.

The board's chief executive Angus Davidson said the symptoms "include everything from wasting to death". So far, industry vets examining the affected farms have not been able to identify the disease.

Davidson said the affected farms were all in the same area so the disease was either air-borne or spreading through pig movement.

Farmers may have to consider post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) as the cause. PMWS is a highly contagious disease that infects piglets up to 12 weeks of age.

The disease poses no danger to humans but causes young pigs to emaciate and have diarrhea and breathing problems. It kills up to 40 percent of young pigs in its early stages. There is no known cure for the disease.

New Zealand and Australia were known to be free of the disease until it was first detected on several North Island farms in 2003.