SASKATOON (Staff) – It came in silently, secretly, invisibly.
But once past the door, transmissible gastroenteritis tore through the Prairie Swine Centre, leaving 460 piglets dead and thousands of animals sick.
That the disease could breach the tight security of the swine centre and wreak such havoc is a warning to all prairie producers, said operations manager Brian Andries.
He took producers attending a two-day pork industry symposium in Saskatoon recently through diagrams of the outbreak, showing how TGE, once inside the facility, spread quickly through the entire herd.
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“Producers have to be aware,” said Andries. “They have to know what’s coming onto their farms.”
Andries said he has no idea how the disease broke into the centre, a research and teaching facility associated with the University of Saskatchewan. There were no reports of TGE appearing in other prairie barns.
Trucks are washed between deliveries, staff shower and wear clean clothes for each shift.
But one morning in a growout room workers noticed something was wrong.
The 84-kilogram hogs had not touched their food, at a time when they should have been consuming great amounts.
Workers also noticed that some of the hogs had diarrhea, although not all hogs in all pens were suffering.
The next day the disease had spread to rooms flanking the first affected room.
Three days after the disease first appeared, symptoms appeared in a farrowing room, spreading out from there.
Quick invasion
Within a week the entire facility, including the nursery, had been hit by TGE.
For most pigs it was a draining experience, but they survived. But most piglets under two weeks old died, and sows pregnant during the outbreak gave birth to 11Ú2 fewer pigs per litter on average.
Whether they died or survived, Andries said the disease took a heavy toll on the herd.
“I’m not saying (you will) go bankrupt, but we lost 460 animals, and that’s a big piece of your income.”
Even though the centre may never know how the disease entered the facility, greater health precautions have been taken.
A biosecurity room has been set up where all incoming materials can be disinfected or fumigated.
A new bus allows the centre to ship less often. Hogs used to go to a Saskatoon slaughter plant every day, but now deliveries occur only a couple of times per week.
The centre will release its full report on the TGE outbreak in the new year.
