Porcine Circo Virus Associated Disease is a viral disease which affects baby pigs, typically just as they enter the nursery phase or the early grower phase, and it's often fatal.

In Canada one vaccine has been fully registered and two others are available under emergency use licenses.

Dr. John Harding, with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, told those attending the Banff Pork Seminar last week the vaccines have been very effective.

Dr. John Harding-Western College of Veterinary Medicine

They differ remarkably in both the type and how you use the vaccines.

The first vaccine to the market was Merial's Circovac which is a sow vaccine and recommended both for breeding gilts before breeding as well as sows before farrowing.

That's a unique product because it's the only one that is licensed to be given to sows.

The other two products are to be given to piglets.

One of those vaccines, produced by Intervet, is a vaccine that requires two different vaccinations at about three and six weeks of age and the second product produced by Boehringer Ingelheim is a one dose product again to be given at about three weeks of age.

The vaccines have proven to be very effective.

We're hearing things like, after vaccinating, the levels of mortality in nursery grow finish units are lower that we have seen for many many years, even those immediately before starting to vaccinate, one to two percent mortality levels grower to finish, just remarkable, so the vaccines are very very effective.

Dr. Harding says scientists are still battling the virus so more research is needed.

He says even though we have vaccines which appear effective, the war has not yet been won.

ThePigSite News Desk