Increase in Respiratory Pathogens Prompts Calls for Stepped Up Biosecurity

In light of an increase over the past month in pathogens considered part of the porcine respiratory disease complex, pork producers are encouraged to step up their biosecurity this fall. As part of its October enewsletter the Swine Health Information Center issued its monthly domestic and global swine disease surveillance reports.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder reports over the past month we saw an increase in some of the endemic pathogens typically considered part of the porcine respiratory disease complex.

Clip-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:

In this last domestic disease monitoring report, we had three of the respiratory pathogens that were specifically increased in the wean to market age group.That was PRRS virus as well as Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae as well as Influenza A virus.

It is fairly expected that we see an increase in those respiratory agents in the fall months but definitely there are things that we can do with regards to biosecurity and environmental conditions to help reduce the disease pressure specifically in that age group.

The other thing that we want to highlight with regards to the increase in specifically the wean to market age group is that historical data has shown us that, as we see an increase in the wean to market age group in the fall, typically that precedes an increase in the sow or breeding farm operations one to two months later.

So, we're sort of in that beginning stage period where we're seeing only an increase in wean to market and so we have an opportunity as an industry to focus on that age group and remember everything we can do with regards to biosecurity to prevent that increase in PRRS and other respiratory pathogens to spill over into the sow and breeding farms.

The full Swine Health Information Center domestic and global swine disease surveillance reports can be accessed at swine.health.org.