Pig disease spread may not be as bad as first thought

1.00pm

The incidence of the outbreak of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in New Zealand piggeries may not be as bad as first thought.

Twenty-four piggeries, mostly in the Waikato, are under strict control by MAF, but only five to eight of them are believed to have PMWS confirmed.

Taranaki Pork Producers chairman Ted Gane said this week that his organisation was emphatic the disease was not in Taranaki as weaners at two piggeries in the region where PMWS outbreaks had been suspected had recovered after treatment with antibiotics.

"As PMWS is untreatable and there were no links between these piggeries and others where the disease has been confirmed, we can conclude that the animals were suffering from some form of pneumonal illness which mimicked PMWS," Mr Gane said.

However, the New Zealand Pork Industry Board's chief executive, Angus Davidson, was guarded about Mr Gane's optimism.

"While I thoroughly support Ted and I am confident that both farms may in time be proven to be negative, their exact official position today is that they are 'suspect'. The longitudinal assessment over six months will hopefully clarify their status -- this is a classical example of the diagnosing of PMWS."

The Taranaki farms will remain on restricted movement control imposed by MAF until their status is resolved. Mr Gane said it was believed that of the 24 piggeries where PMWS outbreaks had been suspected, only between five and eight were likely to have the disease confirmed.

The Pork Industry Board is considering a pest management strategy to deal with PMWS and pig farmers around the country who will be required to pay for it by way of levies have been considering their attitude to the strategy and its consequences for them. Mr Gane attended a lower North Island meeting last week at which it was discussed and given provisional support.

The pest management strategy will be one of the main items on the agenda at the board's annual meeting in Auckland at the end of the month. If it receives majority support it will then be the subject of a referendum among pig farmers.

Mr Gane agreed there was a long way to go before the pest management strategy was in place, but said that with the likelihood of a lower number of piggeries actually confirmed with PMWS, the chances of it receiving industry support were improving.

- NZPA