Strep suis identified in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta this fall

By Bruce Cochrane, Farmscape

The Manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network is encouraging pork producers to report any incidents of sudden death to their herd veterinarians and request rule out testing for African Swine Fever.

The Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWISHN) has released its Swine Disease Surveillance Report for the third quarter of 2021. CWISHN Manager Dr. Jette Christensen says veterinarians in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta have reported Strep suis, sudden death, septicemia, that bundle of diseases.

”Quite a few vets reported that they had seen a spike in sudden death linked to Strep suis in nurseries.
Typically, the picture could be that mortality went up either two percent up or double in specific age groups and the disease would go on and it would run its course within four to six weeks and it would be coming back to normal,” said Dr. Jette Christensen from Canada West Swine Health Network. “In this period sometimes treatments would work to help the issue but that was the picture and it was reported from veterinarians in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba. It's out there. We know that.”

The University of Montreal calls 'Strep suis' the most common cause of meningitis in pigs submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories. While pigs of all ages may be affected, Strep suis disease outbreaks occur most often in recently weaned pigs.

“I can also tell you that we have a strep suis project ongoing. We are in the later phases of getting the data collected for this survey but we hope to find out and get a little bit more knowledge about what is actually going on with Strep suis in our region within the next two to three months.”

Strep suis may appear as sudden deaths, or meningitis may develop as convulsions and subsequent death in pigs in the first three weeks post-weaning. While it’s not uncommon for pigs to show no clinical signs of impending disease, pigs with Strep suis meningitis commonly experience early symptoms such as loss of appetite, reddening of skin, fever, depression, loss of balance and lameness. Blindness and deafness can also occur. 

Dr. Christensen suggests calling your herd practitioner to have a thorough disease investigation if you see increased numbers of sudden deaths, or Strep suis like symptoms to sort out the situation. She recommends participating in the Strep suis project or requesting rule out testing for African Swine Fever.

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