PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) — For the first time since testing began in 2007, a feral pig tested positive for pseudorabies, a contagious disease for livestock but not for humans.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture said the adult female pig was tested June 8 as part of an ongoing surveillance program from the USDA Wildlife Services. Pseudorabies is not related to rabies, though the symptoms may be similar, officials said in a release.
USDA: Pseudorabies
ODW: Feral Swine
ODA: Biosecurity
The pig is “the only natural host” for pseudorabies, which causes neurologic, respiratory and reproductive disorders. Sometimes livestock species get infected. And authorities said the commercial hog order has been free of pseudorabies since 2004.
“There is no indication that there has been any exposure of domestic livestock in Oregon to the Pseudorabies virus, and this detection does not have any impact on Oregon’s recognition as being a PRV free state,” said ODA District Veterinarian Ryan Scholz.
Oregon has a program to capture feral pigs and landowners and managers are required to notify OFDW within 10 days once they’re aware of feral pigs on their land. It’s estimated there are about 200 feral pigs in the state at this time.
