TGE Discovered on Wellington County Hog Farm
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Ontario hog farmers are being warned that Transmissible Gastro Enteritis (TGE) has broken out on a pig farm in Wellington County.
The highly contagious disease can devastate piglets that are less than one week old in only a matter of days.
The main symptom of TGE is diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. The disease is of grave concern because antibiotics are ineffective against TGE.
The disease can spread quickly and within a matter of days - an entire nursery could be infected. While the disease is highly contagious and may result in death, casualty rate is usually low. Despite this, the damage shouldn’t be underestimated – as it may take herds who have experienced an outbreak three to five weeks to recover, which could delay getting the pigs shipped off to market.
Some of the risk factors include manure, which the disease can be easily spread and through purchasing pigs and adding them to an existing herd, barn boots and birds that may carry the disease.
Hog farmers are advised to mitigate the risk of the disease by implementing biosecurity measures and using Iodine as a disinfectant.