On May 5, the World Organization for Animal Health reported the confirmed presence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) in Ecuador, the first occurrence of the disease in the South American country.
The outbreak started on April 3 at a commercial farm for fattening and trading pigs. The farm was located in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas province, which is located west of the capital city, Quito. Dr. Diego Alfonso Viscaino Cabezas, agricultural engineer with the Ecuadorian Agriculture Ministry, reported the outbreak.
On the farm, seven pigs were found to be infected with PRRS. All of them were destroyed. Farm with an epidemiological link are being investigated, and surveillance of neighboring farms is being conducted.
Cambodian pig farms free of PRRS virus
Earlier this year, and on the other side of the planet, World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) officials declared Cambodia to be free of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRS).
In 2015, the Cambodian government called on 13,000 of the country’s veterinarians to help put a stop to the outbreaks of PRRS on pig farms, which began in mid-August, reported WATT AgNet. According to Phnom Penh Post, the early outbreaks in three districts of Siem Reap province in the northwest of the country killed at least 1,200 pigs and affected a further 3,000. A senior official at the country’s agriculture department told the newspaper the last outbreak in the country was in 2009. He added that as there is no vaccine, control of the spread will be achieved through education of farmers and better biosecurity on pig farms.
