Page 2 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Pork Industry Calendar of Events
2022
AUG 3-5 – Qld Agworkforce Summit https://www.qff.org.au/events/queensland- agworkforce-summit-2022/
AUG 7 – Pig Day Out - Loki’s Lodge - Memo Music Hall https://www.memomusichall. com.au/memo-gig/pig-day-out/
AUG 19-21 – Kingaroy Baconfest 2022 www.kingaroybaconfest.com.au
SEP 8-9 – Australian Pig Veterinarians Conference 2022 - Geelong, Victoria. https://www.ava.com.au/education-events/ sponsor-exhibit/about/?eid=EV001309
2023
JAN 10-12 – Banff Pork Seminar - Banff, Canada. https://www.banffpork.ca/
JUN 4-7 – International Symposium on Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases – IMPACT Forum - Bangkok, Thailand. https:// iserpd2023bangkok.com/
JUN 7-9 – World Pork Expo - Iowa State Fairgrounds, US. https://worldpork.org/
NOV 13-16 – Australasian Pig Science Association (APSA) Conference www.apsa.asn.au
How to supply event details: Send all details to Australian Pork Newspaper, PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178, call 07 3286 1833 or email: ben@collins.media
porknews.com.au
07 3286 1833
Figure 2. Foot and mouth lesion on the coronary band. The lesion can be easily missed.
Figure 4. Short term lesion on the nose – this can be very difficult to see.
Figure 3. Ulcer on the coronary band is easier to see when sprayed with green disinfectant spray.
Figure 5. Lesion on the mammary gland highlighted by green spray. Note the lesions on the feet of the sow and also on the feet of the piglet.
Vet’s view on foot and mouth disease
* from P1
blisters and ulcerates –
fect the skin of mammary glands, resulting in mild but painful ulcerations in pigs.
aerosol route.
So, pigs can infect cattle
and especially in our dry environments.
They protect the pig in- dustry every day.
which is painful – causing lameness and further foot lesions.
In pigs, healing is usu- ally rapid, typically over a couple of weeks, with a low mortality but signifi- cant impact on production.
but rarely the other way around.
The virus is killed by a simple change in pH below 6.5 – citric acid – or above 8.5 – bleach sodium hydroxide.
What we can do about it
There has been great deal of media attention about FMD viral frag- ments found in meat and processed products at our ports and in other sources available for purchase.
In severe cases, the damage to the coronary band can be so acute that the hoof horn separates, and the animal will be critically lame for six months – euthanasia is normally carried out.
Cattle only spread the virus over short distances through the air, 1-2km.
The lesions are often dif- ficult to see as pigs’ feet may be dirty and it is nor- mally necessary to wash the feet to see the visible lesions.
It is often mis-reported that FMD affects people, but this is unlikely or very rare.
We need to maiwntain and obey the border re- strictions and import re- quirements.
The virus also affects the nose and tongue, though in pigs this is not often seen because oral tongue lesions can be very tem- porary.
However, people can carry the virus on their clothing, and this poses a significant risk to agricul- tural livestock industries.
Stay vigilant and be aware, but do not lose sleep at night.
If FMD significantly af- fects the farrowing house, the mortality in piglets can be high, as they fail to suckle properly due to their lameness and the sow’s painful udders.
It is a hedgerow path- ogen moving to the farm next door between cows.
First as producers and industry, we must be in- formed but not alarmed.
It is worth noting, this has happened every day for the past 100 years, but Australia remains free of FMD.
The big impact that pigs playisinthespreadofthe disease, in that a pig can transmit the pathogen tens of kilometres.
In the massive outbreak in Great Britain in 2001, no person was infected nor were any human health concerns raised.
Certainly, if wwe visit an Indonesian farm – any foreign farm – tourists should leave all clothing and shoes on the farm they visit.
The risk is real, though no more real than it was last year or 10 years ago.
In fact, pigs are consid- ered super-spreaders of FMD.
In doing this, the risk is significantly reduced.
The best thing you can do is prepare your bio- security plans and take precautions for your own herd.
In cattle, tongue lesions are particularly noticeable as they present as horrific ulcerations, which are extremely painful for the animal.
It has once even crossed the English Channel – over 100km – from pigs to cattle, but this was due to an exceptional weather event.
The virus is relatively easy to kill, though you must understand its weak points.
Upon returning home, all clothing should be hot- washed and disinfected in the washing cycle.
Thoughts are with Aus- tralian beekeepers and the current Varroa mite infes- tation in our bees in NSW.
I had a case in the United Kingdom where the whole tongue surface came off in my hand, a moment you do not forget.
Pigs are normally in- fected via the oral trans- mission route – that is through the mouth – eating infected feed.
As it does not have an oily envelope, it cannot be inactivated by simple soap, as with African swine fever or COVID-19.
Even after visiting any country, this should be public knowledge – you never know, and it’s best to take precautions.
This is a real risk to the Australian agricultural landscape – the Varroa in- cursion is here, in the bee population and needs to be eliminated.
The virus may also af-
Cattle are infected through the nose via the
The virus can remain stable in the environ- ment in cooler climates, but only days above 20C
Primarily, in Australia, we need to thank and be grateful for our border pa- trol efforts and high bio- security standards.
Dr John Carr
Apiam Animal Health
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Page 2 – Australian Pork Newspaper, August 2022
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