Protecting against influenza 
– protecting your farm

An increasing number of pig farms are permanently infected with influenza, often involving several strains and resulting in recurrent infections with atypical clinical symptoms.

Pathogen

Influenza A virus, Orthomyxoviridae

Subtypes are classified according to the presence of haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) on the surface of the cell membranes of the virus.

Frequent viral pathogen of the respiratory tract in pigs and an important part of the PRDC.

Clinical course

The disease can affect pigs and piglets at any age.

Acute form

-          Fever, coughing, dyspnea, apathy, anorexia

Endemic form

-          Persistence of pathogen in the herd

-          Non-specific clinical signs: reduced vitality, reproduction disorders in sows (return to oestrus, abortions), occasionally fever followed by hypothermia, sporadic coughing

Pandemic influenza can be part of both clinical manifestations.

Diagnosis

Virus detection: nasal swabs, lung tissue samples, BALF and oral fluids

Serology (preferably nonvaccinated animals): serum samples, if needed paired samples

Therapy

None since it is a viral infection which means that at best, clinical signs or secondary bacterial infections can be treated.
Prophylaxis is the best protection.

Prophylaxis

Trust the broadest protection with the bundled power of the unique influenza vaccine portfolio of Ceva: the trivalent Respiporc FLU3 vaccine against the classical (H1N1, H1N2, H3N2) influenza strains and the Respiporc Flu pan H1N1 against the pandemic strains.

 

 

Classical influenza strains are widely 
established, pandemic influenza is on the rise

 

Ceva offers diagnostic support to determine the SIV situation in the field by providing technical support and intensive cooperation with veterinarians and leading scientists.

“The passive surveillance, which was carried out in the frame of this thesis from April 2015 to December 2017, comprised over 18,000 samples from almost 2,500 farms from 17 European countries. It targeted samples collected from pigs showing a clinically apparent respiratory disease. […]

A high incidence of IAV-infections in about one quarter of the pigs were detected in a season-independent manner. More than half of the participating farms were affected. Findings included all four swine influenza A virus (SIV) lineages and various reassortants between them. Increased detection of pandemic H1N1/2009, its reassortants and co-infections with
different H1-subtypes were repeatedly documented.”

Diss. D. Henritzi, 2019

     

 

The graphic was modified after the dissertation of Dinah Henritzi, Epidemiology of swine influenza viruses in Europe: Surveillance of domestic pig populations in several European countries 2015-2017, Hannover, 2018

Source Italy: modified acc. to Simon et al. (2014) PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0115815 December 26, 2014

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