PCVAD vaccination produces ‘remarkable results’. That’s the conclusion of researchers conducting
field trials into vaccination against a new and more severe form of porcine circovirus. But many questions remain. One question is why some herds broke with the new
severe problem and others didn’t. The general view is that a
new more virulent form of the virus was introduced. Dr Susy
Caman and workers at the Animal Health Laboratory were
able to show, using a molecular technique, that the PCV
found in cases beginning in early 2005 were consistently
different than the viruses found previously. Bob Friendship, a professor with the
university’s Ontario Veterinary College department of population
medicine, says that the researchers continue to try to
unravel this mystery by using a large number of herds and
determining the presence of risk factors. “If we are successful
this information might lead to ways to control the disease
without the cost of vaccine and might increase our understanding
of how diseases interact,” says Friendship.
The long-term goal is to apply this knowledge to make
our pig population healthier and safer, he adds.