November 29, 2006

China's pig industry struggling against swine fever 

The Chinese pig industry is grappling with swine fever, according to veterinarians from the University of Nottingham, England, who visited China recently.

Swine veterinarians Steven McOrist and Stan Done observed the outbreak first-hand during a recent visit to China's swine veterinary centres.

China's hog industry is "rapidly consolidating" on a scale similar to that in the US  and includes the segmentation of farrowing and finishing, with 500- to 1,000-head sow barns and "routine off-site finishing" in Chinese cities, McOrist noted.

This year's swine fever, a possible combination of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)

and Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) has affected  a number of Chinese finishing facilities, resulting in more than 1 million culls, the veterinarians said.

Clinical signs were predominant in finishers and diagnostic tests assessed from reliable centers showed active PRRS and PCV2 infections with common secondary Pasteurella infections, McOrist said. Many of the affected farms were also positive for hog cholera infections, he added.

The presence of other disease pathogens in general could have created conditions favorable for the development of a more severe strain of PRRS similar to the previous SAMS (Swine Abortion and Mortality Syndrome) outbreaks in the US, McOrist adds.

Mcorist said it is also possible that 'normal' PRDC (Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex) and PCVAD outbreaks on affected farms had become complicated by active hog cholera.

McOrist urges heightened observation and intensive treatment for swine populations where symptoms of porcine respiratory diseases are observed.