CWSHIN Blister Model Helps Demonstrate Freedom from FMD

The Manager of CWSHIN says, by reporting all incidents of blisters to their swine herd practitioners, pork producers can add to the body evidence that Canada remains free of Foot and Mouth Disease.

Seneca Valley virus, which causes symptoms identical to Food and Mouth disease is discussed as part of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network's just released swine disease surveillance report for the fourth quarter of 2022.

CWSHIN Manager Dr. Jette Christensen notes Seneca Valley found at a Manitoba assembly yard this past summer triggered a temporary halt to western Canadian cull sow exports pending a foreign animal disease investigation.

Clip-Dr. Jette Christensen-Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network:

There's been a lot of wok done by the CVO offices in Manitoba and CFIA and by Manitoba Pork Council to resolve this situation.And now CWSHIN has a small contribution to support trade with culled sows and that is our blister model.We started building up that blister model with a survey sent out to practitioners.

We ask them whether they have seen blisters, whether they have discussed blisters with their clients and so forth.Based on those surveys, we get some data and we build a model to support that western Canadian commercial swine premises and small scale producers are free from viral infectious diseases that cause blisters..

So far the model has been updated every quarter and we've reached the level where we can say "the probability that we are free from these infectious viral vesicular diseases such as foot and mouth disease and Seneca Valley virus is about 95 per cent," which is very good.

Dr. Christensen says every record of awareness of blisters adds to the body of evidence so producers can help by calling their swine practitioners if they see blisters.