Page 13 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Successful mycoplasma hyopneumoniae eradication, and implementation of batch farrowing
Bulgaria announces plans to slaughter 24,500 pigs in swine fever outbreak
BULGARIAN veteri- nary authorities recent- ly said they would cull 24,000 pigs after de- tecting an outbreak of African swine fever at a pig farm in the north- east of the country.
Reuters reported the outbreak was the first at an industrial farm since August when the virus hit six breeding farms in the Balkan country, forc- ing the vet authorities to cull over 130,000 pigs.
The outbreak was de- tected at a farm in the vil- lage of Nikola Kozlevo in the region of Shumen, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency said.
The presence of Af- rican swine fever was confirmed in the herd through laboratory tests.
In an interview tele- vised by Bulgarian Na- tional Television, food safety agency head Prof Paskal Zhelyazkov said the “infection has pen- etrated the site so exten- sively” that measures to separate and save unaf- fected pigs would not be possible.
Bulgaria has been de- veloping its biosecurity protocol over the past 12 months as, according to a recent report by The Sofia Globe, 42 outbreaks of ASF were confirmed in Bulgaria in 2019.
A growing number of outbreaks have and con- tinue to occur in com-
mercial herds, meaning the death toll is rising quickly.
The Sofia Globe re- ported about 70 million leva (about $A58 mil- lion) was dedicated to preventative measures and compensation for affected farmers last year.
OVER the previous 18 months, several herds in Queensland and north- ern NSW successfully eradicated mycoplasma hyopneumoniae using depopulation and repop- ulation protocols.
At the time of repopula- tion, many of these herds converted to a batch far- rowing system.
As a consequence, growth rates improved and sickness and deaths were reduced.
Of the sites that con- verted to batch farrowing, reductions in both pre- weaning mortality (down 3-8 percent) and weaner mortality (down 0.5-1 per- cent) have been observed in the 12-month period since repopulation.
Batch farrowing is a sys- tem where newly intro- duced gilts are synchro- nised to come on heat in a tight grouping every four weeks following oral ad- ministration of progester- one (sex hormone).
It enables the group of sows to farrow in a tight group every four weeks, so the farrowing and weaner sheds run as all- in/all-out.
Consequently, this im- proves within-herd bio- security and reduces dis- ease transmission from older pigs to younger na- ïve pigs.
Though it is an incred- ibly minute organism, M. hyo has a significant im- pact on the Australian pig herd.
Of all the diseases pre- sent in Australia, it causes the greatest economic
impact, with increased costs of production often exceeding $4 per pig sold, especially in combination with actinobacillus pleu- ropneumoniae.
Primarily M. hyo caus- es sickness and death through suppression of the pig’s lung immune func- tion, and later infection by secondary bacteria (such as pasteurella multocida).
Control of the disease in a herd is often difficult, requiring significantly in- creased antibiotic usage, alterations of pig flow and housing renovations to improve the air quality environment.
By following the cor- rect protocols, M. hyo is relatively easy to eradicate by total depopulation of the herd, and repopulation with pigs from a known ‘clean’ site.
Once the pathogen has left the host pig, it does not survive well in the environment, particularly if the environment is clean and dry.
Therefore, when remov- ing all pigs from the site, it is suggested a window of at least four weeks is provided before reintro- ducing new pigs onto farm.
During this window, it is important to ensure all organic matter is removed from the environment (such as floors, walls and walkways) prior to disin- fection.
Good-quality foaming detergents are incredibly beneficial for breaking down both organic matter and biofilms, thus expos-
ing the pathogens to the disinfectant, UV light and higher temperatures.
Make sure all clothing, footwear and pig handling equipment are disposed of and replaced prior to dis- infecting the site.
Talk to your farm vet about any depopulation and repopulation plan to eradicate M. hyo or any other farm diseases or convert to a batch farrow- ing program.
The best time to act is when the net profit per pig sold is low, thus minimis- ing the payback time.
It’s also the time to for- mulate a sound biosecurity plan to protect the herd from the introduction of new diseases.
Dr Joshua Timmer Scolexia Avian and Ani- mal Health
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