National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC)

Pseudorabies (PRV, also known as Aujesky’s disease) is an infectious, often acute, disease that infects the nervous systems of livestock, as well as many species of wildlife. The disease poses a potential hazard to humans (although documented cases are rare) and a major hazard to the swine industry. Mortality occurs within infected swine populations, and those that recover from PRV can develop latent infections and shed the virus, contributing to its spread.

One of the principal obstacles to eradication of PRV is the widespread and growing population of feral hogs throughout the United States. Free-ranging feral hogs have been present for many decades in the southern states including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, and in California, Arizona, and Hawaii. More recently, feral hogs have spread to Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, Kentucky, West Virginia, Nevada, and Oregon. PRV-infected feral hogs have been identified in Texas, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Project scientists will combine studies of free-ranging and captive feral hogs. Movement patterns and behavior of free-ranging hogs are being investigated, initially with the use of GPS radio telemetry collars; and commercially available feral hog baits will be examined and evaluated. Studies will also look at relative exposure to diseases within free-ranging hog populations, the likely mode of transmission of pseudorabies from feral to domestic swine, and the likelihood of transmission by indirect contact. Risk assessments will be conducted, risk factors identified and methods to reduce pseudorabies transmission from feral to domestic swine and selected wildlife will be investigated. Best management practices that reduce the likelihood of disease transmission will be developed for livestock producers.

Project Leader: Dr. Tyler A. Campbell,
(tyler.a.campbell@aphis.usda.gov)
USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
National Wildlife Research Center
Florida Field Station
2820 East University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32641
Office: 352-375-2229
Fax: 352-377-5559

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