Senecavirus A Webinar Provides Information to Help Pork Producers Deal with the Infection

Pork producers are being encouraged to be aware of the importance of reporting any indication of Senecavirus A infection.A webinar hosted by the  Swine Health Information Center and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians in March, that looked at "Senecavirus A as an Emerging Risk Due to its Similarities to Foot-and-Mouth Disease", is now accessible through SHIC's website at swinehealth.org.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says since 2015 there have been upward of five thousand cases in the U.S. and more cases are identified each year.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

The problem with SVA is that it looks identical to Foot and Mouth Disease virus and the only way to be able to tell which virus is present is through detection using different clinical tests. The big concern is that, if we miss Foot and Mouth Disease virus this can be devastating to the swine industry.
But it's not only pigs that are affected.

It's also cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, sheep and goats and all of us would suffer a substantial loss in trade opportunities and even loss of animals.
With our U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, it is mandatory to report vesicular lesions if identified on a farm.This is necessary to start a foreign animal disease investigation.

That investigation involves having a veterinary medical officer come out and take the appropriate samples to determine is this SVA or Foot and Mouth Disease virus.At the same time animals will most likely be halted and not removed from the farm and other biosecurity steps implemented until a diagnosis can be obtained.In this particular instance, there are tests at our veterinary diagnostic laboratories that can determine what virus is present.

Dr. Becton says it's important for producers to understand Senecavirus A and Foot and Mouth Disease look the same and the only way to tell them apart is through diagnosis at a veterinary diagnostic lab.For more information on Senecavirus A or to access the webinar visit swinehealth.org.