Iowa agriculture officials are working quickly to “stamp out” a confirmed case of pseudorabies (PRV) in a small commercial swine herd – the first detection of the virus in a U.S. commercial site since it was officially eradicated in 2004.
The detection, confirmed on April 30, involved five boars in a small commercial herd with less than 100 animals. While the virus has been absent from commercial herds for two decades, it remains endemic in feral swine populations, which is the suspected source of this “spillover” event.
Aggressive Containment Strategy
Following established USDA pseudorabies program standards, the affected site is being depopulated and all animals will be disposed of on-site to prevent any spread.
“The standards also require that we conduct surveillance around the site,” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “A five-mile radius circle has been drawn around the positive site. Swine facilities within that radius will need to test for pseudorabies within the next 15 days.”
A secondary, two-mile radius circle has also been established. Farms within this inner circle must undergo a second round of testing 30 days after the original site is fully cleaned and disinfected. Naig confirmed that every producer within these zones was contacted by late Thursday.
Tracing the Source
The investigation points to a direct trace-back: the five positive boars were part of a shipment received several months ago from an outdoor “transitional” herd in Texas.
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