Introduction
Just a few years ago, travel between different countries almost grinds to a halt. A recent contagious strain of swine flu was wreaking havoc in various countries. With a record of 100% fatalities, these diseases of swine had become a worry for many countries around the world. Screening centres were quickly put up in airport and travel to the most affected countries restricted.
History
The culprit this time was the H1N1 subtype of swine flu. This diseases of swine is caused by a viral infection and is endemic. Though the transmission of this swine disease from pigs to humans was not very common, it would happen occasionally but not on a large scale like it did. Symptoms of this disease include fever, coughing difficulty in breathing, sneezing and a loss of appetite. In extreme cases it can cause an abortion. Humans exhibit the same symptoms coupled with headaches, sore throat, body aches and overall fatigue.
Features
Salmonellosis is one of the bacterial diseases of swine. It is caused by the Salmonella bacteria. The disease is spread through ingestion of food containing the salmonella bacteria. Common symptoms include diarrhoea, skin haemorrhages and watery faces with little blood. Also cyanosis which causes change in skin colour particularly in the stomach and ears is visible. Pseudo rabies commonly known as Aujeszky’s disease is one of the fatal diseases of swine. This diseases of swine is viral and endemic. It is caused by a suid herpes virus 1 abbreviated as SuHV-1. This disease of swine is highly contagious and is transmitted through nose to nose contact. Symptoms of the disease include coughing, sneezing, constipation, seizures, excess salivation and ataxia which is a serious breakdown of the nervous system resulting in lack of coordination of muscle movements. Rarely, it might cause abortion.
Tips and comments
Swinepox is a global diseases of swine caused by the poxviridae virus. It ranges mild to severe depending on the means of transmission. It is mostly transmitted through direct contact and by pig lice. Its most common symptoms include or malformed hooves resulting in inability to walk properly. This is caused by a large percentage of body water being used to fight the disease. In breeding swine, the effect is more severe. Children born from them will have bulbous tail, crooked snout and filling of muscles and fat with pus which severely weakens tem and results in death over a period of time. Blue eye disease is a disease of wine caused by the blue eye paramyxovirus which is most common in South America. It is transmitted though fomites and birds. Symptoms include neurological and respiratory complications in younger pigs. Older pigs may suffer from infertility or abortion during pregnancy. Mastocyma commonly known as mast cell tumour is a disease of swine found in many animals including humans. Mast cells are manufactured in the bone marrow and mostly contain histamine which they release during allergic reactions. Signs of this disease of swine include wart like lumps or ulcerated skin. Severe tumours may cause anaemia, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea.
