Despite the pork industry’s best efforts, influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S) continues to evolve and remains a challenge for US pork producers and veterinarians — particularly in grow-finish systems. The year-round presence of the virus has compounded the problem and made control programs more challenging.

In addition, broad-based movement of pigs throughout the country means that multiple flows often come together from different areas. This complicates the ability to identify specific strains, let alone control them, said veterinarians during a roundtable discussion on swine influenza hosted by Zoetis. Even within single-flow operations, multiple introductions of flu are common.

Veterinarians in the roundtable discussion agreed that managing IAV-S had become a major obstacle to raising healthy, profitable pigs.

“Outside of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), the thing that gets in our way the most is influenza,” said Clayton Johnson, DVM, veterinarian and director of health at Carthage Veterinary Services, Ltd, Carthage, Illinois.

Monitoring the virus is therefore critical to the success of control programs. “If you could figure out what virus was going to trigger it, you could go in quickly and vaccinate your way out of it,” Johnson added….

Read the rest of this article and download our Integrated flu management: New strategies for control special report.