Emerging Health Issues in Swine: Experiences from Brazil

May 20, 2020

Presented by Janice Zanella

Given the worldwide trend to reduce the use of antibiotics and the increasingly global nature of our markets, both emerging and existing disease challenges pose a great threat to productivity and profitability. Successful disease management must encompass both traditional control and treatment, as well as a proactive, preventative mindset. 

Brazil is a major agricultural producer and has much of its territory in the tropical region, harboring greater environmental diversity compared to other parts of the world. Studies have pointed to the Amazon region as a possible future "hot spot" where emerging disease agents can arise. Factors for emerging diseases are not well understood, but some of them include the expansion of the human population, climate change, globalization and the intensification of animal production. Added to this context, the finding that 75% of emerging human diseases (or reemerging) of the last century are zoonotic. Beyond the fatalities (human and animal), zoonosis affects the economy of countries. It is estimated that the impact of animal diseases exceeds 20% of the losses in animal production worldwide.  

In the last 20 years, several disease-causing pathogens have emerged or re-emerged in pigs in Brazil. Among them are porcine circovirus (PCV2, PCV3), influenza A, hepatitis E virus and Senecavirus A. Peri-weaning failure to thrive syndrome (PFTS) has been diagnosed as well. However, the overall sanitary condition is good. Brazil is free of foot-and-mouth disease due to vaccination (the state of Santa Catarina is free without vaccination), free of Classical Swine Fever (PSC – in 15 states) and free of African Swine Fever. Diseases such as Triquinellosis, Nipah virus encephalomyelitis, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndromes (PRRS), swine epidemic diarrhea (PEDV) and transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) have never been diagnosed in the Brazilian porcine herd. 

The objective of this presentation is to discuss the main factors for the emergence of swine diseases, addressing future threats and the strategic importance of Brazilian research, disease control and surveillance.