FMD-like pig disease threat

Pig farmers have warned of havoc in the industry if a new disease being seen in Brazil and the US arrives in the EU.

Porcine Idiopathic Vesicular Disease (PIVD) lesions are similar to notifiable vesicular diseases such as foot and mouth. Therefore it would trigger movement controls if discovered in EU pig units, according to the National Pig Association in the UK.

PIVD and the related Epidemic Transient Neonatal Losses (ETNL) have been encountered in pig herds in Brazil since October 2014 and in several herds in the US since July, 2015.