Investigation of Viral Diseases of Swine in the Republic of Haiti
Following a field and laboratory investigations, a multi-national group of researchers has assessed the risk of introducing a whole range of viral diseases from the Republic of Haiti into the North American pig population as high.
30 May 2013
3 minute read
By: In the latest issue of Journal of Swine Health and Production, Rodney Jacques-Simon of the National Veterinary Service of Haiti and others from organisations there and it Santa Domingo, France and the US report their study aiming to confirm the prevalence of teschovirus encephalomyelitis in multiple regions in Haiti and to identify other viral agents present in the pig population.
They conducted a field investigation on 35 pig premises located in 10 regions. Sera from 109 pigs, including 23 sick and 86 apparently healthy pigs, blood samples from 21 sick pigs, and brains, spinal cords and other tissue samples from eight humanely euthanised pigs were collected and tested.
Of the 109 serum samples, 49.5 per cent and 58.7 per cent were positive for antibodies to porcine teschovirus type 1 (PTV-1) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2), respectively.
Additionally, 7.3 per cent, 11.9 per cent and 22.0 per cent of sera were positive for antibodies to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and swine influenza virus (SIV) H3N2 and H1N1, respectively.
Among the 54 sera positive for antibodies to PTV-1, 35 (64.8 per cent) were also positive for antibodies to PCV-2.
Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) was isolated from five sera.
These results confirm that teschovirus encephalomyelitis is prevalent in multiple regions in Haiti, including areas near the border with the Dominican Republic, and that several other viral disease agents, i.e. CSFV, PCV-2, PRRSV and SIV, are present in the Haitian swine population.
The researchers concluded that, due to the close proximity of the Hispaniola to Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States and the large number of direct flights from the Hispaniola to the United States, the risk of introducing the viral diseases mentioned in this paper into the North American pig population is high.
Reference
Jacques-Simon R., M. Millien, J.K. Flanagan, J. Shaw, P. Morales, J. Pinto. D. Pyburn, W. Gonzalez, A. Ventura, T. Lefrancois, M. Jenkins-Moore, D. Toms, M Erdman, L. Cox, A.J. Bracht, A, Fabian, F.M. Mohamed, K. Moran, E. O'Hearn, C. Carrillo, G. Mayr, W. White, S. Metwally, M.T. McIntosh and M. Deng. 2013. A field and laboratory investigation of viral diseases of swine in the Republic of Haiti. J Swine Health Prod. 2013;21(3):130–138.
Further Reading
You can read the full report by clicking here.
Find out more information on the diseases mentioned in this article by clicking here.
May 2013
