Guidance: Surveillance for pig pathogens in government-subsidised diagnostic submissions

Table 1 lists pig pathogens for which there is routine surveillance screening in place at APHA, utilising material from diagnostic submissions to APHA Veterinary Investigation Centres and APHA’s surveillance pathology partners dealt with by surveillance pathology vets.

When using government-subsidised testing, the submitting veterinary practitioner needs to decide whether they consent to this routine surveillance screening. This is by the submitting veterinary practitioner ticking the appropriate box on the APHA pig submission form, or during triage with the surveillance pathology vet for post-mortem examinations.

Testing to screen for the listed pathogens is an important component of surveillance and helps protect the pig industry through:

If screening results are not negative following testing for a notifiable disease (apart from porcine epidemic diarrhoea), an official APHA veterinary investigation is undertaken to rule the notifiable disease out or confirm its presence. This work safeguards the health of the nation’s livestock.