Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 2015

Abstract

The wild hog (Sus scrofa) is an invasive species that can pose a serious threat to native ecosystems, the domestic livestock industry, and human health. It is estimated that wild hog damage in the United States amounts to roughly $1.5 billion each year; however, this estimate could substantially increase if wild hogs transmitted a viral or bacterial disease to the country’s domestic livestock industry. From 2007-2013, blood and nasal secretion samples were collected from 629 wild hogs in South Carolina to test for 6 selected diseases including classical swine fever, swine brucellosis, pseudorabies virus, porcine circovirus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, and swine influenza virus all of which can be transmitted to domestic livestock. The sex, age class, and geographic location of each wild hog sampled were also recorded. Results indicate that age class was significantly associated with swine brucellosis, pseudorabies virus, and porcine circovirus prevalence. Positive swine brucellosis, pseudorabies virus, and porcine circovirus samples were found in 50.0-92.3% of counties sampled. Because wild hogs are present in every county of South Carolina, this information is crucial to determine disease hotspots in the state and can be shared with at-risk individuals and domestic livestock operations in affected counties.

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