Preventing disease in pork

If you suspect that your animals are sick with any of the diseases here, contact your veterinarian or local CFIA animal health office immediately to assess your animals and submit samples to the Animal Health Centre.

African Swine Fever

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a serious, highly contagious virus affecting pigs and is a reportable Foreign Animal Disease (FAD). ASF can spread rapidly in pig populations by direct or indirect contact. It occurs among pigs and wild boars, transmitted by ticks and direct contact between animals and can persist for long periods of time in uncooked pork products. There is no vaccine or treatment available and acute infections in naïve pigs can result in up to 100% mortality. The virus can infect pigs, but not show clinical signs of disease for up to 21 days. ASF does not affect humans and therefore does not pose a food safety risk.

• Canadian Pork Council (CPC) – ASF Information and resources
  • Printable resources
  • African swine fever: Overview - April 2019
• Animal Health Canada – ASF Resources

Small lot pork producers can reference the below resources to help them  prevent the spread of ASF.

• CPC ASF for small scale producers - January 2019 
• CPC How to clean and disinfect clothing, footwear and other items - February 2019

Learn about the ASF Compartmentalization Program. Watch CPC and CFIA’s joint webinar here.

Pseudorabies

Pseudorabies, also known as Aujeszky's disease, is a viral disease causing neurological and respiratory disease in swine, which are the natural hosts of the virus.

In Canada, pseudorabies is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act, and all cases must be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Learn more at CFIA’s webpage.