The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced Friday that it has placed a Mower County swine herd under quarantine after several sows on the farm tested positive for pseudorabies.

A Mower County swine producer, whose swine herds are not infected, said the latest isolated outbreak comes at a time when real progress had been made in the last 18 months to eradicate the disease.

The producer, who declined to give his name, said his uninfected herd is in a target area that is the focus of state health officials' attention.

Although state officials have not identified the producer whose herd is infected, it is known he farms in the Rose Creek area and state health officials say other herds within six miles of the herd are vulnerable to the spread of the virus unless vaccinated.

As a preventative measure, all swine herds within the six-mile radius of the infected that herd will be tested by the Board of Animal Health. These producers are also being asked to vaccinate their hogs immediately.

State Veterinarian Bill Hartmann said it is imperative that this infection be contained.

"A quick response is vital whenever you are responding to a contagious animal disease outbreak," Hartmann said. "The early detection of this herd may have helped us here. However, now that we have detected this disease, we need to make sure it does not leave this farm."

Although not a risk to humans, pseudorabies is an extremely contagious disease among swine and can be fatal when transmitted to cattle, dogs, cats, sheep and goats. The virus can cause reproductive problems, including spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and even death in breeding and finishing hogs. Once infected, swine remain carriers of the virus for life.

Pseudorabies is not new to Minnesota.

In 1999, an epidemic of pseudo rabies swept across southern Minnesota, infecting more than 300 herds. In 2000, another 134 herds became infected. After these outbreaks, the Board of Animal Health stepped up its pseudorabies eradication and prevention efforts with strict new regulations that prohibited movement of infected swine and restricted the importation of swine from areas that were at high risk for pseudorabies.

The Board also launched a program to vaccinate all swine in southern Minnesota. By April 2002, the last pseudo rabies quarantine in Minnesota was lifted.

Gary Thome, a Mower County swine producer and Riverland Community College farm management instructor, said he is angered and disappointed at the new report of pseudorabies "after everybody had put their best foot forward to eradicate the disease."

Thome said the buyout incentive helped expedite producers' compliance with calls for vaccinating their herds. However, Mower County herds close to the Iowa border are vulnerable to catching the virus from unvaccinated herds in northern Iowa.

Thome and business partners have swine herds within the six-mile zone declared to be a target area of the Minnesota Department of Animal Health to have herds tested.

Although the state will pay for the tests, the time and effort at sorting pigs in the middle of harvest season will not be welcomed by farmers.

Lastly, Thome said, "This could have been detected" and that is left up to every individual swine producer to take measures to guarantee bio-security for their swine herds, he said.

Producers are encouraged to call the Board of Animal Health at 651-296-2942 if they have questions or concerns related to this latest infection.

Lee Bonorden can be reached at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com