By Dr. Arnold Taft
USDA-APHIS-VS Swine Diseases Staff

The single most important goal of the program today is to have located all pseudorabies infected herds and to have enrolled each of those herds in a cleanup plan that can demonstrate progress. The second most important goal is to have in place a surveillance plan that will identify newly infected herds.

Additions to the Program Standards are listed on page 1 of the January 1, 1994 issue. Since these additions will be discussed later in the program, I will only mention two items: Feeder Pig Markets and Surveillance.

The feeder pig market has developed into some controversy as states have advanced to Stage IV. The intent was that this market would only accept and subsequently sell feeder swine that came from monitored herds, qualified herds, Stage III or higher status states, or had a negative test within 30 days. The regulation to require feeder pig monitoring or establish a certain status is determined by individual states. All states now have such a regulation or have established the authority to implement such a regulation. USDA, as of today, has swine market approval authority as currently described in 9 CFR Part 76.18. In order to modify or change market approval regulations, USDA has appointed a task force headed by Dr. Jan Huber, Assistant Director of the Central Region, to make recommendations.

The Department of Agriculture is committed to carrying out its statutory and regulatory mandates in a manner that best serves the public interest. Therefore, where legal discretion permits, the Department actively seeks to promulgate regulations that promote economic growth, create jobs, are minimally burdensome, and are easy for the public to understand, use, or comply with. In short, the Department is committed to issuing regulations that maximize net benefits to society and minimize costs imposed by these regulations. Any recommendations from the Livestock Market Review team will have to be consistent with Executive Orders.

The concept for the Approved Feeder Pig Market in the Program Standards was taken from the Illinois Monitored Feeder Pig regulation. The Illinois program has been functioning very well for nearly 10 years and has virtually eliminated any spread of PRV through pigs purchased at auctions. Any significant changes in marketing of pigs in Illinois and other mid-western states who have a similar program would be detrimental to their livestock markets, swine producers, and have no real effect on the enhancement of pseudorabies eradication. Each state can best adapt their own market industries to best serve their own needs. USDA will provide minimal standards that are necessary to eradicate pseudorabies.

The additions or changes to surveillance described on pages 9, 17, and 18 are realistic and positive changes that recognize the substantial amount of negative testing that occurs each year for maintaining the status of herds. The changes allow for this testing to be recognized in many instances with no further sampling necessary in these herds, thus creating a considerable saving in cost to the program.

As stated previously, the primary goal this year is to have every known pseudorabies infected herd in the United States on an effective cleanup program. How do you measure an effective plan? An effective plan is usually built over time using tests of the finishers and of the replacement gilts. If finishers are positive and continue to remain positive, management deficiencies must be corrected (e.g. no or improper vaccination, overstocking, failure to clean pens and equipment between groups, etc.). If negative replacement gilts do not remain negative, the point of sero-conversion must be identified and an improved herd plan implemented. When the finisher is negative and replacement gilts are remaining negative, it is time to focus on a time frame to complete "roll over" of the original infected breeding herd and testing for quarantine release.

Each program manager who does not have a system to record or measure these progressive steps will be visited by the regional swine epidemiologist to assist in developing such a program.

Effective herd plans will reduce the amount of pseudorabies virus being created, thus significantly reducing the number of newly infected herds. This is the year when we should reach the apex of total known infected herds. The pace of our descent and our attainment of total eradication will largely be determined by the dedication of regulatory staffs, practicing veterinarians, and swine producers to implementing effective herd plans. The eradication of pseudorabies can be accomplished and through our efforts will leave the nation’s swine herd more productive and in a higher health status because of management strategies developed to eradicate pseudorabies.