MAFFbacks study on new pig killers
MAFFbacks study on new pig killers
By Alistair Driver
MAFF is backing further research into the two diseases currently devastating UK pig herds in an effort to understand their causes and minimise their future impact.
One of the key objectives will be to develop an effective live test for work on porcine dermatitis nephropathy syndrome (PDNS) and post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS).
Already at least 120 herds have been affected by PDNS since the autumn, and more than 20 have been hit by PMWS. Some herds have been hit by both. The effects of an outbreak can be devastating, with high mortality and reduced performance hitting financial returns badly.
The problems for farmers are compounded by the fact the symptoms of PDNS are similar to Classical Swine Fever, which means infected herds have to be closed until CSF is ruled out.
Yet very little is known about the diseases, which is why MAFF is backing the Veterinary Laboratory Agency to find out more.
"The first step will be to extend the telephone survey get a better idea of how quickly the disease is spreading, where it is and how well it is being recognised," says MAFF veterinary adviser Laurence Gibson
He does not rule out the possibility that more cases of the two diseases than previously known would come to light through the survey.
VLA staff will also look at a series of cases in detail to try and piece together more information about what causes the diseases and whether they are linked.
Vets at the VLA have linked both diseases to the porcine circo-virus type 2, having found it in lesions of affected pigs in both cases.
If the research throws up stronger evidence of this relationship, the VLA may try to develop routine screening for PCV-2 as an indicator of the presence of the diseases.
"But this will depend on what comes out of the current study. There is great deal that is still not known," says Mr Gibson.
"For example, is PCV-2 also found in healthy pigs? Is it the single causal agent of one or both diseases or does it make pigs more vulnerable to infection from another agent, such as fungi, bacteria or toxins in feed?"
Jill Thompson, who has been researching PDNS at SAC Edinburgh since 1993, says a lot more research needs to be done.
"The presence of PCV-2 could be incidental," she says. Her research has revealed the presence of a bacteria, Pasteurella multocida, in isolates from PDNS cases, but this could also be incidental, she admitted. SAC is carrying out its own telephone survey and is working closely with MAFF on the problem.
Mr Gibson is unwilling to reveal how much money MAFF is putting into the research, but says future funding would depend on whether politicians wanted to further examine a human link to the diseases.
Set in box please
PIG DISEASES
* Increasing concern.
* Research funding.
* Disease links?