14 Notifiable Diseases

FMD and rabies are two main notifiable diseases of pigs and other species in the UK, with a high media concern. They are shown in Table 14.1. It is vital that practitioners who are attending any pig farm, whether large or small, are vigilant for FMD. It is extremely likely that the next outbreak of FMD in the UK will come from pigs via inappropriate feeding of foreign pig products to pigs by mistake. Swill feeding is banned in the UK. In other countries where FMD is exotic it is just as important that practitioners are vigilant, particularly if swill feeding is practised. The author feels that the keeping of pet pigs is a particular danger worldwide. Biosecurity is obviously harder with outdoor pigs. Birds could easily spread disease (Fig. 14.1).

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease. It is possible that pigs can become infected from the bite of a carnivore, another pig or a bat, but it is very unlikely that the first case of rabies will occur in a pig in any country free of rabies.

Table 14.2 shows further diseases monitored by DEFRA in the UK and Table 14.3 shows further diseases monitored by the OIE worldwide.

Disease patterns are changing constantly and practitioners are advised to consult their national regulatory authority.

African Swine Fever

ASF was first recognized in Kenya in 1921 by R.E. Montgomery. He recognized the disease as an acute haemorrhagic fever infecting domestic pigs of European origin. They became infected from the symptomless carrier, the warthog Phacochocerus africanus (Fig. 14.2). It was soon realized that the soft tick of the Argasidae family was also a reservoir of the virus and was a vector. The virus could also be found in the bush pig, Potamochoerus larvatus, and the giant forest hog, Hylochoerus meinertzhagani. Double fences are required to protect domestic pigs from picking up infected soft ticks from wild pigs (Fig. 14.3).

ASF first was recorded in Europe in Portugal in 1957. It occurred through swill feeding. It spread rapidly throughout the Iberian Peninsula and took over 30 years to eradicate. Other countries like France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have had outbreaks but, except in Sardinia, it has never become endemic in Europe and the disease has managed to be eradicated. It has crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean and Brazil, but has also managed to be eradicated in these areas.

Table 14.1. The two main notifiable diseases of pigs and other farm livestock in the UK.

Table 14.2. Six further notifiable diseases of pigs alone or pigs and other farm livestock in the UK.

At the time of writing the disease is reported in most sub-Saharan countries in Africa including Madagascar. Elsewhere it is restricted to Russia, Armenia and Sardinia. It has never occurred in the UK but clinicians should always be vigilant. In Russia it is found as far north as St Petersburg and Murmansk. In these northern areas it is spread in a domestic pig cycle. In sub-Saharan Africa it is spread mainly in a wildlife cycle. Molecular epidemiological research has greatly improved our understanding of the two different modes of spread of the disease.

Table 14.3. Further diseases affecting pigs, either pigs alone or pigs and other farm livestock, being monitored by the Office International des Epizooties worldwide.

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