The emergence of a pig disease in Canada which resembles foot-and-mouth has prompted the NPA to warn UK importers to take extra precautions before sourcing pigs from the country.
The disease in question is Senecavirus A (SVA), also known as Seneca Valley Virus. Discovered in Brazil in 2014 and in the US in mid-2015, SVA is now being reported for the first time in pigs in Canada, following on from an upsurge of cases in the US last year.
In response to the Canadian development, NPA senior policy adviser, Georgina Crayford, has alerted UK producers to the fact that the Animal & Plant Health Agency considers SVA to be an “emerging threat to UK pig health”.
“I therefore urge anyone importing pigs to take special precautions to ensure you do not bring them in from herds affected at any time with SVA, or herds with any links to others which have been affected,” said Ms Crayford (pictured above).
Clinical signs of SVA include:
- Blisters/vesicles or ulcers of the snout, mouth, and/or just above the hoof
- Lameness
- Fevers
- Lack of energy and/or appetite
- Lesions
- Four to 10-day increase in piglet mortality with/without diarrhoea.