By Abbey Canon
Senecavirus A is an endemic pathogen that remains an ongoing concern to the US swine industry. Its clinical presentation is characterized by vesicular lesions on the snout and feet, closely mimicking those caused by economically devastating foreign animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease. A recent publication, led by Drs. Mariana Kikuti, Cesar Corzo, and the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project team at the University of Minnesota, examines how frequently new SVA outbreaks occur in breeding herds. This work helps to understand virus spread, as well as when and where it is most detected, and estimates the cumulative incidence of SVA in the US to quantify disease burden. Published in the journal Animals (2025,15,1650), results provide epidemiologic insights into SVA across US breeding herds from January 2015 to December 2024 through analysis of data gathered from the SHIC-funded Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project.
As an endemic pathogen, SVA impacts animal health through causing vesicles as well as lameness and lethargy. Further, SVA is clinically indistinguishable from FMD, making investigations for every suspected case necessary to rule out a foreign animal disease and placing a significant burden on state and federal animal health agencies. A major SVA outbreak in 2015 raised concerns across the US swine industry. However, since then, there has been a gap in comprehensive research on how often SVA occurs across US pig farms.