Ontario pork producers warned of virus

Oct 06, 2016

Confirmed cases of Senecavirus A found in Ontario pigs

By Jennifer Jackson
Farms.com News Team

A recent release circulated by the Ontario Pork Industry Council confirmed the presence of Senecavirus A in Ontario. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is conducting testing at any federal processing plants which contain potentially symptomatic swine. If symptomatic animals are found, operations can be halted for up to 72 hours for further testing.

Senecavirus A is part of the same viral family as foot-and-mouth disease (FMDV) and swine vesicular disease (SVDV).

Symptoms of the virus mimic those of FMDV, including:

Blisters and sores around the mouth, snout, and/or above the hoof,
Fevers, lameness, decreased appetite and/or energy,
And increased reports of piglet mortality with/without diarrhea.

Unknown prior to 2002, there are still quite a few uncertainties in dealing with and treating the virus. The CFIA is currently treating the situation as they would deal with FMDV and SVDV.

In September, a number of Canadian pigs shipped to the U.S. had blister-type lesions, yet tested negative at the packing plant for a foreign animal disease. The CFIA then began its own sampling to diminish any potential threat. This sampling lead the CFIA to positive confirmation of Senecavirus A in Ontario assembly yards.

Suljo/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Although the virus is not federally reportable, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is refusing any loads of swine that are showing potential symptoms.

Unlike FMDV, Senecavirus A is only transmissible to swine and is of no risk to humans.

Farms across the province have yet to document any cases.

Lori Moser, manager of Swine Health Ontario, said Senecavirus A “is challenging because although it is not a foreign animal disease (FAD), it can look like a FAD. We are asking our producers to assess pigs carefully because any signs of vesicular disease seen at processing may disrupt production flow until a foreign animal disease is ruled out.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.