Newly infected herds continue to be a major concern. Further virus spread will stop when all positives are removed. A pseudorabies program work conference was held in Ames, Iowa, on June 2-4, 1998. The participants in this work conference were the program managers from 12 States that have the largest swine populations and nearly all of the pseudorabies-infected herds. Each State reported on their strategic plan to finalize this program.
Different States have different problems.
The conference provided the opportunity for thorough discussions of these different issues by program managers, swine producers, practicing veterinarians, and national pork producer council leaders. This will mean an acceleration of herd cleanup in infected herds and increased controls on movements of pigs from areas that are not progressing according to schedule. A surveillance program that can identify any remaining infected or newly infected herd is essential to the completion of the program. All federally inspected slaughter establishments that slaughter sows or boars should be collecting blood samples from identified animals, but they are not. Ten establishments that slaughter approximately 650,000 sows and boars annually are not collecting today.