The pseudorabies outbreak that threatened the U.S.’s largest pork-producing state has ended, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
Testing at roughly 10 pig operations near a small central Iowa facility hit by pseudorabies in late April have all tested negative for the highly contagious virus, the state ag department said Monday, June 15.
“Thanks to a strong, coordinated effort, this situation has been resolved, and we were able to successfully contain and eradicate the pseudorabies virus from Iowa,” said Mike Naig, Iowa’s agriculture secretary, in a statement.
The April pseudorabies outbreak was the first reported in a commercial herd since 2004.
Before that, pseudorabies plagued pig herds in Iowa and the U.S. It can kill or stunt the growth of hogs or cause abortions or stillbirths in sows, and result in tens of millions of dollars in losses.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture traced the Iowa outbreak to five sows transported to the state from Texas, where the herd was housed outdoors and likely had contact with feral swine, which can carry the disease.
Even though pseudorabies was eliminated from U.S. commercial swine herds, it’s still found in wild or feral swine populations, “which remain a potential threat of exposure for domestic pigs,” said the state ag department said in May.
The government’s response allows “Iowa and the U.S. to retain its pseudorabies disease-free trade status,” the Iowa ag department said. The testing also lifted a quarantine on the facilities, allowing producers within the area to again move livestock.
About 100 pigs in the central Iowa facility were destroyed to prevent the disease’s spread, the ag department said in May.
Naig said at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines earlier this month that state and federal government and the pork industry will evaluate the response to the outbreak — as well as how the infected pigs made it into Iowa.
Pseudorabies does not pose a risk to human health or food safety, the Iowa ag department said.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Testing shows Iowa contained highly contagious pseudorabies outbreak
Reporting by Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
