I am sharing this email in it's entirety because this is extremely important information that needs to get out there. Farms within a 5 mile radius of the infected farm are now under quarentine and all 4-h activity has been canceled.
Carol
CLARK COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Jennifer Lord Kouraichi, Director Ph: 715-743-5100 Clark County Courthouse Fax: 715-743-4350 517 Court Street, Room 306
Cellular Ph: 715-429-0669 Neillsville,
WI 54456
E-mail:
emergency.management@co.clark.wi.us
Pseudorabies Present in Clark County
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jennifer Lord-Kouraichi, 715-743-5100 or 715-429-0669 (C)
Neillsville,
WI (April 16, 2007)— Clark County Emergency Management (CCEM) and other local government officials were briefed this morning regarding confirmed cases of pseudorabies in a county swine herd. Last week, a trace-back test from a slaughter house indicated that there was a case of pseudorabies, a swine disease that causes symptoms ranging from seizures to stillbirths, in a Clark County swine herd. The disease, completely eradicated from Wisconsin in 2001, could have been introduced to the Clark County from feral, or wild, pigs.
Earlier this morning, Assistant State Veterinarian Paul McGraw from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/ Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Area Emergency Coordinator Dr. Ty Vannieuwenhoven briefed 20 county officials in the Clark County Emergency Operations Center about the planned disease response. Dr. McGraw said that this disease is not spread from animals to people, so there is no danger to humans. However, the disease can be passed to other animals such as cats, dogs, cattle, sheep and goats, which quickly die from contracting the virus. McGraw said that DATCP and the USDA will also visit other locations within five miles of the quarantined Greenwood farm, and blood samples will be taken from hogs to determine if pseudorabies is present. This week, as a precaution, the farm, and other swine producers within a five-mile radius are being quarantined so no pigs move in or out of the area. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, is confirming state lab results this week. Should the test results from Iowa confirm the presence of pseudorabies, also known as Aujeszky’s disease, then the affected pigs will be slaughtered.
As a precaution, the Clark County UW-Extension Office has cancelled the 4-H and FFA Swine Weigh-Ins that were scheduled for April 21st in Thorp and Greenwood. They will be rescheduled at a later date as more information becomes available.
The Wisconsin Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be holding an informational session on Thursday, April 19th at 7 p.m. at the Greenwood High School Cafetorium, 306 W. Central Avenue, Greenwood, Wisconsin. All producers and the news media are welcome to attend. For more information please contact Jennifer Lord-Kouraichi (Core-ray-she) from Clark County Emergency Management at 715-743-5100, or the Wisconsin Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) at (608) 224-5005.
