Outbreak keeps swine producers on alert

St. Paul, Minn. - A recent pseudorabies outbreak insouthwestern Minnesota has led to tighter scrutiny of herds throughout southernMinnesota and northern Iowa.

Ten Minnesota counties bordering Iowa were upgraded to Stage IVpseudorabies virus eradication (PRV), joining the rest of the state. Currentlyfederal and state classification of pseudorabies in Stages I to V is based onslaughter checks, on-farm testing and confirmation of pseudorabies outbreaks.A state in Stage IV has no known PRV infection and no new cases confirmedwithin one year of application.

Despite the outbreak, the risk of PRV infection in southernMinnesota still remains low, says Dr. Paul Anderson, Minnesota Board of Animal Health SwineDivision Director.

As a safeguard, local veterinarians continue to encouragevaccination of breeding herds. It'san important insurance program against big potential losses from PRV, notes Dr.Rick Sibbel, a swine veterinarian.

"Veterinarians and producers need to keep appraised of thepseudorabies situation in their area even as we work toward PRV-free status inthe United States," says Sibbel. "It will be two to three yearswithout a case of pseudorabies before there is a real lack of risk from thedisease to swine herds."