Epidemiological impact of swine zoonotic digestive viruses – review

Abstract

Infectious diarrhea of farm pigs causes some of the most significant financial losses for producers working in the pork industry through the loss of efficiency, as well as the loss of overall profitability of production. Highly virulent diseases, such as porcine epidemic diarrhoea, result in very high piglet mortality, causing producers enormous financial difficulties. Recurrent and less endemic diseases however, have greater long-term overall effects on health and productivity. The prevalence of swine diarrhea can vary from country to country, from one farming system to another and even from one farm to another. The increasing pressure of pig production, the wide network of imports-exports, the constant evolution of pathogens that allow them to develop new adaptation and diversification mechanisms, and climate change, are some of the challenges faced by the global pork industry. Thinking about viruses being transmitted across species implies taking into consideration all issues arising from these pathogens. They not only reveal the vulnerabilities in human societies, whose functioning is disrupted by these outbreaks, but also the fragilities of the environments in which they appear.