LHPAs on frontline in eradication of Influenza A H1N1 in pigs
The state’s Livestock Health and Pest Authorities are at the forefront of the rapid response to an Influenza A H1N1 infection in a 2000 head pig herd in central west NSW.
The Livestock Health and Pest Authorities, as the frontline livestock health service in NSW, are playing a vital role, with a number of field staff on the ground at the infected property.
The local control centre is based at the Dubbo office of the Central West Livestock Health and Pest Authority. It is staffed by district veterinarians, rangers and customer service officers from Livestock Health and Pest Authorities throughout the state, together with staff from the Department of Industry and Investment.
The property is currently quarantined and under the response plan, pigs will not move from the property until they have returned to full health and are completely free of clinical signs of the flu.
Livestock Health and Pest Authorities Local Control Centre investigations manager Dr Andrew Biddle said staff will continue to monitor the health of the pigs and assess if they are no longer suffering the flu.
“Pigs won’t leave the property until at least seven days after returning to full health,” Dr Biddle said.
The district veterinarians and rangers are part of the NSW Government First Response Team which is trained to respond to livestock disease emergencies.
The response team has been involved in the successful eradication of equine influenza, avian influenza and Newcastle disease from NSW over the past decade.
The database held by Livestock Health and Pest Authorities was used to quickly identify any piggeries in the area to give confidence that there were no other pigs in close proximity.
“I encourage any other producer who may have pigs showing signs of Influenza to contact their local Livestock Health and Pest Authority or local veterinarian for investigation, to avoid any further cases of the disease,” Andrew Biddle said.
The identification of Influenza A H1N1 virus comes soon after Exercise Pigcatcher, a partnership between the Livestock Health and Pest Authorities and the Department of Industry and Investment, which tracked selected pigs around the state and prepared staff for an outbreak situation.
Media Contact: Bruce Reynolds 0428 613 181