With the battle to eradicate pseudorabies (PRV) in high gear, be on guard against complacency in biosecurity and vaccination.
First, work with clients to develop and implement a well-written biosecurity plan, says swine practitioner Paul Yeske, St. Peter, MN. It should be communicated to everyone within the farm and production system.
Next, make sure you have a good isolation facility to serve as a buffer between the original source farm and the herd farm into which stock is being introduced, he continues.
Watch out for transportation risks, adds Tim Loula, DVM, St. Peter, MN. "Frequently, producers focus on slaughter pig transport, and they take other risks with light pig transport. As veterinarians, we really need to re-emphasize that the risk can be quite high and more than offset the cost."
Look at the neighborhood, says Loula. If pig density is high, your risk is greater. That heightens the need for external biosecurity. "You really have to do almost a neighborhood plan by having local producer meetings," he adds.
"Producers assume they have the best biosecurity program - showers and truck washes - but if you have a lot of neighbors with PRV, you are at risk," Loula says.
Once the biosecurity plan is in place, set up an auditing process. "With the breaks in the winter of 1997, we found out that many biosecurity steps were not being implemented," points out Max Rodibaugh, DVM, Frankfort, IN.
"Having an audit in place might have prevented some of those breaks," he says.
As of mid-October, 383 PRV quarantined herds were left in the U.S. including: Iowa, 371; Florida, 5; Minnesota, 3; New Jersey, 2; and Illinois and Tennessee, both with 1.