Swine Dysentery has been confirmed on a nursery-to-finish pig unit in Buckinghamshire.
The outbreaks was identified by clinical signs and subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests on Tuesday. It is suspected to have been present for two-three weeks as there were no distinctive clinical signs of dysentery.
Strict biosecurity and biocontainment measures are currently in place. The unit is responding well to treatment. Once the pigs are at slaughter age the unit will be fully depopulated and enhanced cleaning and disinfection will take place
The exact origin of the outbreak is unclear, but is currently under investigation
In its notification of the outbreak, AHDB said: “If you have recently moved pigs from Buckinghamshire please monitor them closely for the development of any clinical signs of enteric disease and notify your vet immediately if you observe any suspect diarrhoea.
“It is important that a heightened level of biosecurity and monitoring for clinical signs are observed over the next few weeks, especially within the Buckinghamshire region.”
Information on Swine Dysentery can be found on the AHDB website at: https://pork.ahdb.org.uk/
Buckinghamshire is the latest county to record an outbreak this year, following confirmation of a number of cases in North and West Yorkshire, as well as in Norfolk, Suffolk, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and north east Scotland.
Producers who haven’t yet done are also being urged to sign up to the Significant Diseases Charter, which provides notification of outbreaks. The charter is free to join and can be done quickly via the Pig Hub.
The NPA Producer Group and the Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) have called for the Significant Diseases Charter to become compulsory under Red Tractor, reflecting concerns that some outbreaks of swine dysentery are not being reported.
“It is clear that there is a lot more dysentery out there than we think, so we need to address it,” NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said.
The NPA, AHDB and other organisations recently launched the #MuckFreeTruck campaign, partly in response to evidence that some of the recent swine dysentery cases have been spread via transport.