March 30, 2006

 

PMWS forces closure in Canadian pig farms

 

 

A deadly strain of porcine circovirus has devastated the pig industry in Ontario and Quebec, forcing some producers to shut down their operations and start from scratch.

 

Both cities together account for about half of Canada's 31 million hog production each year.

 

The virus, more popularly known as the Post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), has been in Canada since the 1990s. It is also present in the United States and Europe, but only became a serious problem in Quebec and Ontario in early 2005.

 

In Ontario, eight to 12 per cent of the herd has died from the disease, about six times the normal mortality rate with more isolated herds having lower infection rates.

 

The farmers' troubles are exacerbated by a rising Canadian dollar. Ontario producers export much of their product to the United States and the strengthened dollar has put a dent in sales.

 

Clare Illington, communications officer with the Ontario Pork Marketing Board, said the disease is widespread, yet it spreads almost randomly.

 

In some herds, for instance, the mortality rate runs as high as 40 to 50 per cent while others have not been affected at all, she said.

 

Larry Skinner, chairman of the marketing board, said the province would get a vaccine fast-tracked for approval this spring to help farmers deal with the problem.

 

PMWS kills pigs over a period of weeks, causing severe weight-loss, jaundice, kidney failure or pneumonia.

 

It is fatal and has no cure. The disease has stabilized and has subsided in some areas, but it has caused mortality rates of 25 to 40 percent on many hog farms.

 

The disease is now more severe and is affecting older pigs, and it seems to have mutated to a form different from the past, said Dr Bob Friendship, who researches the syndrome at the University of Guelph, in Ontario.

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the disease will not spread to humans and is considered a production-limiting disease.