Swine vesicular disease (SVD) is an acute, contagious

viral disease A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells. Examples include the common cold, gastroenteritis, COVID-19, ...

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

caused by swine vesicular disease virus, an ''

Enterovirus ''Enterovirus'' is a genus of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses associated with several human and mammalian diseases. Enteroviruses are named by their transmission-route through the intestine ('enteric' meaning intestinal). Serologic ...

''. It is characterized by

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

and

vesicles Vesicle may refer to: ; In cellular biology or chemistry * Vesicle (biology and chemistry), a supramolecular assembly of lipid molecules, like a cell membrane * Synaptic vesicle In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) s ...

with subsequent ulcers in the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

and on the

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

, feet, and

teat A teat is the projection from the mammary glands of mammals from which milk flows or is ejected for the purpose of feeding young. In many mammals, the teat projects from the udder. The number of teats varies by mammalian species and often corr ...

s. The pathogen is relatively resistant to heat, and can persist for a long time in salted, dried, and smoked meat products. Swine vesicular disease does not cause economically important disease, but is important due to its similarity to foot-and-mouth disease.

Transmission

Swine vesicular disease is most commonly brought into a herd by the introduction of a subclinically infected pig. The disease can be transmitted in feed containing infected meat scraps, or by direct contact with infected feces (such as in an improperly cleaned truck).

Clinical signs

After an incubation period up to 7 days, the signs associated with swine vesicular disease occur. The first sign is a transient mild fever. Other signs include: * Vesicles in the mouth and on the snout and feet * Lameness and an unsteady gait, shivering, and jerking–type leg movements * Ruptured vesicles can cause ulcers on limbs and feet, and foot pads may be loosened. Young animals are more severely affected. Recovery often occurs within a week. Mortality is negligible. Swine vesicular disease has the same clinical signs as

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

, and can only be diagnosed by laboratory testing.

Prevention and control

No vaccine exists for SVD. Prevention measures are similar to those for foot-and-mouth disease: controlling animals imported from infected areas, sanitary disposal of garbage from international aircraft and ships, and thorough cooking of garbage. Infected animals should be placed in strict quarantine. Eradication measures for the disease include quarantining infected areas, depopulation and disposal of infected and contact pigs, and cleaning and disinfecting contaminated premises.

History

Swine vesicular disease was first identified in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1966. In 1971, an outbreak occurred in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and the disease was subsequently found other countries in Europe and Asia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swine Vesicular Disease Animal viral diseases Swine diseases Infraspecific virus taxa Enterovirus-associated diseases