US - USDA Confirms Pseudorabies in Swine Herds in Iowa and Texas - April 30, 2026

[sharon sanders]

via email - no link


From:
"APHIS Stakeholder Registry" <aphis@subscribers.usda.gov>
To: "FluTrackers"
Subject: USDA Confirms Pseudorabies in Swine Herds in Iowa and Texas
Date: Apr 30, 2026 5:16 PM​

[TABLE="align: center, border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR="bgcolor: #427CBC"]
[TD="align: center"] [TABLE="align: center, border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="align: center, border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
[TD="align: center"] [TABLE="align: center, border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]USDA Confirms Pseudorabies in Swine Herds in Iowa and Texas


Contact: aphispress@usda.gov

Washington, D.C., April 30, 2026—Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed via ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) and latex agglutination testing (LAT) a detection of antibodies to pseudorabies virus (PRV) in a small commercial swine facility in Iowa. This confirmation was a result of routine testing, not pre-movement surveillance.

Initial traceback indicates that the five affected boars came from an outdoor facility in Texas. Animals from that herd also tested positive for pseudorabies. APHIS is working with officials in Iowa and Texas to expand traceback efforts and identify any additional potential exposures.

This marks the first known case of pseudorabies in commercial swine since 2004, when it was eradicated from the commercial swine industry. PRV is still prevalent in feral swine populations in the U.S. and there is occasional spillover of infection to outdoor production herds where contact with feral swine is possible. APHIS is working closely with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Texas Animal Health Commission to conduct traceback to better understand the detection and prevent further spread.

This detection does not pose a risk to consumer health or affect the safety of the commercial pork supply. There may be limited, short-term impacts on exports of U.S. swine and/or swine genetics. Pseudorabies is a contagious viral disease of livestock and other mammals. However, pigs are the only natural hosts. While pseudorabies virus can infect most mammals, humans, horses, and birds are considered resistant.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
​

 

[sharon sanders]

per WOAH

Aujeszky’s disease


Aujeszky’s disease, also known as pseudorabies, is caused by Suid herpesvirus 1 (SHV-1), a member of the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae and the family Herpesviridae. The virus infects the central nervous system and other organs, such as the respiratory tract, of a variety of mammals (such as dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, rabbits, foxes, minks, etc.) except humans and the tailless apes.

It is associated primarily with pigs, the natural host, which remain latently infected following clinical recovery (except piglets under 2 weeks of age, which die from encephalitis). The pig is the only species able to survive a productive infection and therefore, serves as the reservoir host. Young piglets are highly susceptible with mortality rates reaching 100% during the first 2 weeks of life. These animals show signs of hyperthermia and severe neurological disorders: trembling, incoordination, ataxia, nystagmus to opisthotonos and severe epileptiform-like seizures. When pigs are older than 2 months, the respiratory forms become predominant with hyperthermia, anorexia, and mild to severe respiratory signs: rhinitis with sneezing and nasal discharge that may progress to pneumonia. Sows and boars primarily develop respiratory signs, but in pregnant sows, the virus can cross the placenta, infect and kill the fetuses, inducing abortion, return to oestrus, or stillborn fetuses. In the other susceptible species, the disease is fatal, the predominant sign being intense pruritus causing the animal to gnaw or scratch part of the body, usually head or hind quarters, until great tissue destruction is caused. Focal necrotic and encephalomyelitis lesions occur in the cerebrum, cerebellum, adrenals and other viscera such as lungs, liver or spleen. In fetuses or very young piglets, white spots on liver are highly suggestive of their infection by the virus. Intranuclear lesions are frequently found in several tissues. Vaccines should prevent or at least limit the excretion of virus from the infected pigs. Recombinant DNA-derived gene-deleted or naturally deleted live Aujeszky’s disease virus vaccines lack a specific glycoprotein (gG, gE, or gC), which enables the use of companion diagnostic tests to differentiate vaccinal antibodies from those resulting from natural infection.
​
https://www.woah.org/en/disease/aujeszkys-disease/