SWINE FEVER OUTBREAK

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1933, Page 5 (Supplement)

SWINE FEVER OUTBREAK

CAUSES OF INFECTION WIRELESS BROADCAST TALK. DISEASE IN NEW ZEALAND. “It is a very widely spread disease, and causes enormous loss in all European countries, America and Great Britain,” said Mr, W. C. Barry, district superintendent of the live stock division of the Department of Agriculture, in a broadcast lecture on swine fever from station 2YA yesterday evening. “From what has been said it is apparent that swine fever is existent in practically every country in which swine are maintained.” Swine fever was a highly contagious disease, which was entirely peculiar to the pig. Not only was it never seen in any other animal naturally, but. all attempts to transmit it experimentally had failed. Man was not affected, and there was ..no danger even if pork with the disease was consumed. The history of the disease in New Zealand was unique in that the country had been free from it for a very long period of years, Mr. Barry continued. The first official recognition' of swine fever in New Zealand, had" occurred in 1895, when Dr. J. Gilruth confirmed the existence of the disease at Dannevirke. During the same year an outbreak was confirmed at Stirling, Otago. In both instances slaughter of the entire herd of pigs was carried out, and it was hoped that the ' disease had been exterminated. However, in 1898 a serious outbreak occurred at Mataura, Southland, investigation being carried out by Dr. C. J. Reakes, the present DirectorGeneral of Agriculture. Since 1902 New Zealand had been free from the fever, a period of freedom not paralleled by any other pig-rearing 'country. The average death-rate in swjne fever was very high, said Mr. Barry, and it might even amount to 100 per cent, of the pigs on one premises. Pig owners should suspect infection under the following circumstances:—When a number of pigs were dying; when they were sick or off colour; when periodic deaths were occurring, even if the remaining pigs appeared healthy; and when large' numbers of suckling or newly-weaned pigs were dying, even if the older ones appeared to be healthy. The fact that no new pigs had been brought on to the premises for some months did not justify the owner in thinking that mortality was not due to swine fever. The manner 'in which the infection reached Wellington was, of course, at present a mystery. When the danger through infected bacon or pork had become recognised some three years ago, regulations controlling-the destruction of garbage from overseas ships were gazetted, and the department had since exercised a rigid control in' that direction. No garbage had been allowed off any overseas ship in Wellington until a permit had been issued for its destruction.

There were, unfortunately, other possible avenues, such as the removal from overseas vessels of pork or bacon by visiting persons, Mr. Barry concluded. It had been reported that that had actually occurred, people visiting ships being. given bacon said to have been of Continental origin to : take home and sample, and here, of course, was a vital potential danger. ■