• Commercial swine returning directly to its place of origin in this state following treatment in a veterinary facility outside this state, provided that the swine was shipped directly to the veterinary facility and there was no change of ownership.
Swine moving in Wisconsin
The proposed rule establishes new requirements for moving commercial swine within the state.
No person may move commercial swine intrastate unless the herd of origin has tested negative on a PRRS and SECD test conducted not more than 90 days prior to movement and documentation of the negative test reports are made available to the department upon request.
If the swine’s herd of origin tests positive for PRRS or SECD, the department will quarantine the herd of origin until a herd plan is developed and approved.
If commercial exhibition swine originate from Wisconsin and return to Wisconsin after an exhibition in another state, the exhibitor must notify the department of the movement. The department will quarantine the swine, herd of origin, or both until a herd plan is developed and approved. This provision is not applicable if all the swine at the exhibition are from negative herds.
These new intrastate movement requirements do not apply to either of the following:
• Swine moved directly to a slaughtering establishment for slaughter.
• Swine moved to one fair or exhibition prior to being shipped directly to slaughter.
Herd plans
The goal of the herd plan is to bring the herd to negative PRRS and SECD status and limit the spread of the disease. The herd plan must:
• Be written by a Wisconsin certified, accredited, licensed veterinarian on behalf of the importer.
• Establish testing protocols relating to PRRS and SECD, as appropriate.
• Establish notification requirements of at risk farms.
• Establish biosecurity requirements.
• Be broken down into separate production categories that need to be managed.
• Be approved by the department.
The department will provide sample herd plans to assist veterinarians in herd plan development.
PRRS and SECD testing
Tests to determine whether PRRS or SECD is in the herd of origin must be approved by the department and provide 90% confidence that the disease would be identified if present at 30% prevalence in the herd. The rule allows samples for testing to be taken by rope, blood, or other if approved by the department.
If collecting samples by rope:
For herds with less than 150 swine, one pooled sample of swine must be collected and tested. The number of swine pooled must be determined by the owner in consultation with the herd veterinarian.
For herds with 150 or more swine, three pooled samples of at least five swine shall be collected and tested.
If collecting blood samples, samples must be taken from 8 swine for any sized herd.
Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal statutes and regulations
Current federal regulations require reporting of swine enteric corona diseases including PED.
Comparison with Rules in Adjacent states
Similar to other Midwestern states, Wisconsin has established programs for historically important diseases, such as tuberculosis, brucellosis and chronic wasting disease. Wisconsin would be the first to establish testing requirements for PRRS and SECD when moving swine in order to prevent and control these diseases. Surrounding states have no PRRS or SECD testing requirements in place for moving swine.
PRRS and SECD have proven to be costly, highly contagious diseases among pigs and can result in tremendous production losses for swine producers.
Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a virus that is also known as blue-ear pig disease. This economically important, panzootic disease causes reproductive failure in breeding stock and respiratory tract illness in young pigs. Clinical signs include dramatic reproductive losses, increased pneumonia, and reduced pig growth.
An “Assessment of the Economic Impact of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus on United States Pork Producers,”created by the Iowa State University and published in the Journal of Swine Health and Production, in 2013, compiled data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a survey of swine veterinarians on the incidence and impact of PRRS, and production records from commercial farms with known PRRS status. Animal-level economic impact of productivity losses and other costs attributed to PRRS were estimated using an enterprise budgeting approach and extrapolated to the national level on the basis of the US breeding herd inventory, number of pigs marketed, and number of pigs imported for growing. The total cost of productivity losses due to PRRS in the US national breeding and growing-pig herd was estimated at $664 million annually, an increase from the $560 million annual cost estimated in 2005.
According to a February 16, 2016, article from the Scientific American,
“One of the worst things that can happen to a pig farmer is a pen infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). It emerged in the 1980s, and the syndrome now afflicts these hoofed animals worldwide, causing illness, death and miscarriage. In fact, it has been designated the most economically significant disease for swine, costing livestock producers in North America $600 million annually from deaths and medical treatments. Vaccinations have mostly failed to prevent the syndrome's spread.”
Similar to PRRS, the swine enteric coronavirus disease (SECD) has a substantial economic burden given that it is highly infectious, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in piglets.
PEDv is a coronavirus that affects swine, causing diarrhea and vomiting, and death of 50-100 percent of infected piglets. Adult pigs can become infected and lose weight after being infected but generally do not have mortality. PEDv has persisted and spread, and now has been detected in 36 states. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has deemed PEDv a reportable disease.
Wisconsin’s swine production ranks 19th in the nation, supports more than 5,000 jobs and produces more than $136 million in annual income. Given these factors, it is important that these diseases are controlled as they can seriously affect the state’s hog production industry.
This proposed rule is industry driven and based on several meetings with and requested changes made by the PRRS/SECD Eradication Task Force. The proposed rule has been approved by the Wisconsin Pork Association.
Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to Determine Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of an Economic Impact Analysis
Division staff met several times with the Wisconsin Pork Association’s PRRS/SECD Eradication Task Force to develop the contents of this proposed rule. The task force is comprised of veterinarians, pork producers representing a variety of Wisconsin farms, and other industry representatives. Many of the small business fiscal effects were discussed and determined at those meetings. Division staff also met with members of the Wisconsin Show Pig Association to discuss the rule contents and their concerns.
Effect on Small Business
The majority of the costs associated with this proposed rule will be the testing of swine for PRRS and SECD prior to movement. If the producer moves swine on a regular basis, at most, such testing would be done on a quarterly basis (testing must be done within 90 days before movement). The movement of and number of swine in the herd will be the greatest factors in determining cost.
The number of swine to be sampled to provide 90% confidence that the disease would be identified if present at 30% prevalence in a herd. This means:
• For herds with less than 150 swine, only one pooled sample must be collected. The owner must consult with a veterinarian to determine how many swine samples should be pooled for testing.
• For herds with 150 or more swine, three pooled samples of at least five swine must be collected and tested.
The least expensive testing can be done by hanging a cotton rope in a group of pigs to collect saliva, and does not require an on-farm visit from the veterinarian. The samples can be collected by the farm owner under the direction of a veterinarian, but must be submitted through an accredited veterinarian to an approved diagnostics lab. At the most, 3 ropes may be needed to sample swine in different pens or barns. A rope test kit can be used to sample the swine for both PRRS and PED and may be purchased for $5.25.
The samples may be submitted to Iowa State University or the University of Minnesota for testing. The submission fee for either university is $10, regardless of the number of samples submitted.
Iowa State University charges $25 for the PRRSv using the PCR test and $25 for the SECD using the PCR test. University of Minnesota charges $30.80 for the PRRSv using the PCR test and $33 for the SECD using the PCR test. This fee includes a 10% out-of-state surcharge.
In addition, the veterinary clinic that submits the samples typically charges a shipping and handling fee. Based on samples submitted during last summer’s fairs, shipping and handling fees ranged from $7 and $13.50.
Minimum costs each time a herd with less than 150 swine is tested for PRRS and SECD would be $72.25 and a herd with 150 or more swine would be $172. 25, determined as follows:
