Page 115 of articles about swine-diseases

Hepatitis E is an emergent human infection and it is thought that swine are the main animal reservoir. Five papers published during 2009 describe the latest results obtained by swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) group at CReSA.

The OIE has informed about the presence of foot-and-mouth virus serotype A in Guangxi and Guizhou provinces.

In order to ensure the eradication of FMD virus, Chinese Taipei uses non-vaccinated pigs as sentinel animals on every farm. During the routine active surveillance in the livestock market, a pig was found NSP antibody positive. The prefecture animal disease control competent authority traced back to the original farm. The result of clinical investigation showed that all pigs on farm were healthy. Samples for serological tests and virus isolation were collected and sent to the National Laboratory. The laboratory confirmed positive results for NSP and negative for virus isolation. A total of 57 farms within 3-km-radius of the index farm have been under vigilant monitoring and no clinical or serological evidence of infection has been found.

The Department of Agriculture is to launch a new salmonella scheme in a bid to tackle worrying levels of the disease in the national pig herd. The EU average for salmonella taken from lymph node samples is 10.3pc. However, the figure for Ireland stands at between 15 and 20pc. Ireland tops the table when it comes to carcass contamination at slaughter, which stands at 20pc. The EU average is 8.3pc.

A pig health improvement scheme is being rolled out in Yorkshire ahead of other regions after the county's pig farmers joined forces with Yorkshire Forward to tackle disease and welfare issues. It will include the mapping of all pig units in Yorkshire and Humberside and an attempt to determine their health status as well as looking at how disease enters the country and spreads.

International experts on Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) have agreed on a plan to control the infection in Western Eurasia and stop it spreading west to Europe and North Africa, following a serious epidemic in several Middle Eastern countries.

After the detection of the A/H1N1 virus in pigs in Canada transmitted by a human, FAO has again urged national authorities and farmers to carefully monitor pigs and investigate any possible occurrences of influenza-like symptoms in domestic animals.

The novel A/H1N1 influenza virus has been identified and being very closely related to the human strains based on the genes sequenced so far. Full characterisation is continuing and so is virus isolation in eggs. It is highly probable that the pigs were exposed to the virus from a farm worker who had recently returned from Mexico and had been exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) indicates that it has found H1N1 flu virus in a swine herd in Alberta. The safety of the food supply is not affected and Canadian pork continues to be safe to eat. While further testing is needed to more fully characterize the virus, the CFIA is taking a precautionary approach. The herd has been placed under quarantine, and the Agency is working with public health colleagues to determine the most appropriate next steps to ensure that public and animal health remain protected. The chance that these pigs could transfer virus to a person is remote.

The Philippines has again failed to receive its FMD-free status with vaccination after the Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) turned down its request, said National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc President Albert Lim.

A new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been reported in Hunan province.