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Producers say pork products are safe to eat and have not been affected by the virus. Photo: Amanda Lim
Pork safe to eat say producers
n Managing JEV
“It’s also the mental health impact on the people, because there’s been a lot of stillborn, abor- tions or abnormalities in piglets, which can be very stressful, day in, day out,” Dr Britton said.
“But if a sow is bitten by a mosquito at the right, or wrong, time in her gesta- tion cycle, it can affect her litter of piglets.
With vaccines a key focus, Dr Britton is part of the discussion as to how pig producers can be sup- ported now and into the future.
AS Australia con- tinues to manage Japanese encephalitis virus, consumers have been guaranteed that it is safe to eat pork.
cases in Queensland, 22 in Victoria and 30 in NSW.
JEV is a mosquito- borne virus, meaning it can’t be passed from pigs to humans.
A rare case of JEV was confirmed in South Australia in an alpaca, and horses are known carriers of the disease too.
South Australia’s chief veterinary officer Mary Carr said, “It’s important that eve- ryone understands that pork meat products are safe.”
To date, 37 people have contracted JEV in Australia and there have been three deaths in NSW, South Aus- tralia and Victoria.
“There should be ab- solutely no concerns about buying Aus- tralian pork and pop- ping it on your fork.”
A JEV vaccine has been prioritised by the federal govern- ment for those at risk of exposure, including veterinarians, piggery and abattoir workers, and people who work closely with mosqui- toes or pigs.
Though South Aus- tralia has no production concerns according to Dr Carr, the prediction is that JEV will impact supply chains in other states.
At risk Australians are encouraged to seek information from their local health practi- tioner.
“We’ve managed through this response to ensure that the movement of pigs has continued, minimising any impacts to in- dustry,” Dr Carr said.
While piggeries have addressed the threat of JEV by quickly im- plementing mosquito management plans, Dr Carr advised producers remain vigilant, even in winter.
Pork SA chair An- drew Johnson said the pork industry felt sup- ported by government authorities and he en- couraged consumers to share in that support.
“At this time of year, we do normally see a reduction in mosquito levels, which will re- duce the risk,” Dr Carr said.
There have been no additional cases since early April, following seven JEV detections in commercial South Australian piggeries.
“Knowing that, we are still dealing with a new disease for Aus- tralia.
Australia’s total number of piggery JEV detections is cur- rently at about 70, with
“So, we’re asking all producers, also horse owners, to be alert for these signs and report them in.”
Classified as a high priority to access the JEV vaccine are those who work with pigs or mos- quitoes. Photo: University of Queensland
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, May 2022 – Page 19
Pork supply plunge predicted
ACCORDING to ex- suming pork, Dr Britton
Ms Beveridge said be- tween 3-15 percent of a litter was usually impacted. Vaccine
perts, pork supply will be impacted by Japanese encephalitis virus, with infected piggeries experi- encing production losses of up to 80 percent.
said production losses were likely to affect availability.
There are now 30 pig- geries in NSW affected.
“I think it will affect the supply of pork, because it has impacted a number of the bigger properties as well as some of the smaller ones,” Dr Britton said.
Whether the virus will return annually is one of the big questions for pig producers.
JEV is endemic in other countries though has not been seen this far south in Australia.
In recent weeks however, cases of JEV had stabi- lised as mosquito activity reduced.
It is thought the current outbreak may have been started by an infected waterbird flying further south than usual.
The NSW chief vet says affected piggeries are expe- riencing heavy losses. Photo: NSW DPI
Victorian Regional Development Minister Mary-Anne Thomas touring an Apiam facility. The company is set to develop a vaccine for the virus. Photo: Apiam
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NSW Department of Pri- mary Industries chief vet- erinary officer Dr Sarah Britton said, “They have had huge impacts on pro- duction – up to 80 percent of production impacted in some sites.”
Blantyre Farms owner and Australian Pork board member Edwina Beveridge confirmed her pigs tested positive recently.
“Is it because we’ve had so much water around and the waterbirds have come south?” Dr Britton said.
While the disease has no impact on the safety of con-
“We’re seeing some im- pacts in the piglets being born now, where we’re having a lot more unfortu- nately born dead.”
As yet, no vaccines have been approved for pigs in Australia, though human vaccines are available.
“It generally doesn’t af- fect our grower pigs,” Ms Beveridge said.
“Or has a cyclone po- tentially blown mosquitoes down here?”