Farmscape for February 14, 2019

Western Canadian pork producers are being advised to pay close attention to condemnation rates.
Following each quarter the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network analyses swine health data provided through surveys of veterinary practitioners, from Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences laboratories and abattoirs to assess swine health status.
CWSHIN Manager Dr. Jette Christensen says during the fourth quarter of 2018 the number of condemnations due to respiratory lesions at federally inspected abattoirs in Saskatchewan and Manitoba was higher than in other regions in Canada.

Clip-Dr. Jette Christensen-Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network:
When  we looked at the abattoir data, we actually could see that the number of positive cases for PRRS and mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has been increasing in 2018 in the VBS laboratory that has submissions from Manitoba.
So we took that information from our surveillance and discussed it at our quarterly meeting with our practitioners and we generally agreed that respiratory viruses will not cause condemnation at abattoirs on their own.
But, in combination with bacterial diseases, such as mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, glasser's or actinobacillus suis, they might cause lesions at slaughter so we were thinking that pigs infected with respiratory viruses such as PRRS or influenza early in life were predisposed for getting lesions at slaughter when they get the bacterial disease late in their finishing stage.

Dr. Christensen encourages producers to monitor and discuss their condemnation rates with their veterinary practitioners.
She says if they are higher than they should be ask why and what might be done because it could be an indication that something hidden in the health status of the herd.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork