Farmscape for August 23, 2006  (Episode 2227)

A southern Saskatchewan veterinarian suggests PRRS and TGE are the two viral diseases by which the standards are set for biosecurity in western Canada.
Improved diagnostics, better isolation facilities and improved knowledge of which protocols actually work have allowed swine producers to dramatically improve their ability to protect pigs against disease.
Dr. Shawn Davidson, with Davidson Swine Health Services, says a lot of the biosecurity protocols implemented by veterinarians today are put in place with the introduction of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome and Transmissible Gastro Enteritis in mind.

Clip-Dr. Shawn Davidson-Davidson Swine Health Services 

Most of our biosecurity programs are set up surrounding the prevention of introduction of PRRS.
The PRRS virus will survive, particularly in a frozen state, for a good number of hours so biosecurity protocols surrounding transportation, washing and disinfecting of trailers, down time for those trailers from the time that they've been to a slaughter plant till they return to a farm are all very important measures.
In some parts of western Canada another huge biosecurity type risk would be TGE.
We haven't seen TGE or Transmissible Gastro Enteritis in western Canada for a good number of years but we did see some in the past winter.
Again, that is very resistant to the environment and it freezes very well.
It'll survive for long periods of time in a frozen state.
It survives for very long periods of time in hog manure so, if there's any movement of hog manure from one facility to another, be that in a vehicle like a transport vehicle, be that on a person's shoes, be that by what ever means manure can potentially move around, you can see some fairly devastating health breaks with that virus that could be prevented with proper biosecurity measures.

Dr. Davidson says PRRS and TGE are the viruses that move around most readily.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council