Census I Distribution I Production I Biosecurity I Movements
I Slaughter houses I Transportation I Vaccines I Legislation I CSF Programme
I Diagnostic I Actual Situation CSF I Veterinary Services
I Strategic AlliancesI Focal Points I Map

CENSUS : In 2000, there were approximately 13,500 farms raising hogs in Canada with a total inventory of 12.2 million. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Source: www.agr.ca/cb/factsheets/2red_e.phtml

Statistics Canada Source: CANSIM, matrices 9500-9510 and Catalogue no 23-603-XPE. Last modified: January 29, 2002: www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/Economy/Primary/prim51a.htm

ANIMAL MOVEMENTS WITH NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION ROUTES:
In 2000, the amount of 19.4 million pigs went to market (an increase of 3.7% over 1999). Of that number 4.4 million head went to the United States (U.S.) as live pigs; the rest were sent to 100 slaughtering plants in Canada.

Total replacement of approximately 50%. Source: CPC

Vehicles may leave a suspect premises under licence provided they are cleaned and disinfected. Vehicles hauling carcasses from an infected premises must be leak proof and covered. Each load must be accompanied by a CFIA employee to its destination. C&D equipment must be available at the disposal site or the rendering plant and the vehicle must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after unloading. Vehicles that have been used to transport swine or pork products within an infected zone are not allowed to leave the zone without a cleaning and disinfection at an approved C & D station. Swine from premises in the surrounding surveillance zone (minimum 10 km) are permitted to move under licence in trucks bearing seals:
1) to abattoirs located within the surveillance zone;
2) to other premises within the surveillance zone with the same owner as the original premises;
provided that the swine have been inspected by a veterinarian and found free of clinical evidence of CSF within two days preceding movement. Vehicles and equipment used to handle or carry livestock must be cleaned and disinfected under the supervision or to the satisfaction of an inspector.

The Health of Animals Regulations subsection 104 (1) gives the necessary authority to order disinfection of vehicles and other things suspected of being contaminated with a communicable disease agent. The Health of Animals Regulations Part XII define conditions for the humane transportation of all animals in Canada by all modes of transport. The Health of Animals Regulations are accessible at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3.3/C.R.C.-c.296/index.html

PRESENT NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES, INCLUDING CSF

Classical Swine Fever is one of 36 compulsorily reportable diseases in Canada under the Health of Animals Act. Anyone suspecting the presence of CSF is legally obliged to report that suspicion to the CFIA. Section 61 of the Health of Animals Act permits the recovery of fees, charges and costs related to control areas declared for such diseases as CSF from "persons who, through their fault or negligence, or that of others for whom in law they are responsible, caused or contributed to the causation of the existence or spread of the disease or toxic substance in respect of which the control area was declared." Legislative Source: http://laws.justice.gc.ca./en/H-3.3/57165.html

A CSF eradication strategy is part of an overall management plan to respond to a potential incursion of an exotic animal disease on Canadian territory. The Emergency Response Organization and the detailed procedures to implement the contingency plans are described in the CFIA's Foreign Animal Disease Manual of Procedures (FAD-MOP). In the event of an outbreak of CSF, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada would make a policy decision to adopt a strategy which may include the "stamping-out" approach. This means slaughter and disposal of all susceptible species on premises where the disease has been confirmed (preferably by burial or burning) followed by cleaning and disinfection of the premises; imposing strict movement control in the infected zone surrounding the known infected premises; tracing of all movements of animals, animal products, people and fomites to or from the known infected premises, during a period of 40 days prior to the initial clinical manifestation of the CSF on the farm; issuing infected place declarations for premises exposed and for premises perceived as possible sources of infection; and taking measures involving pre-emptive slaughter of high-risk animals. The purpose is to identify swiftly all exposed premises, to destroy all infected or potentially infected animals and materials, to decontaminate the environment and the vehicles to avoid further spread.

CFIA veterinarians are the first people to intervene in the field. Emergency management organizations, provincial governments, police agencies, security and military services are called as required by the Government of Canada.

Classical Swine Fever Diagnostic Capabilities at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD): The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease's Classical Swine Fever and Avian Diseases Unit is located within a modern, well equipped, BSL-3 laboratory. The Unit is fully equipped to carry out CSFV isolation in cell culture, detection of CSFV-specific nucleic acids by RT-PCR, sequencing of RT-PCR generated amplicons, detection of CSFV antigen in frozen tissue sections by immunostaining reactions, and detection of CSFV-specific antibodies by serologic methods. The Unit also has access to BSL-3+ animal cubicles for animal inoculation experiments.

Unit staff participate in CSF diagnostic training exercises that are a requirement of NCFAD's quality system. The purpose of these exercises is not only to train and maintain competence of analysts in CSF diagnostic test methods and procedures, but to also critically review those procedures in the context of any recent advances that has taken place in the areas of CSF diagnostics and pathogenesis. This process is tightly integrated with ongoing technology development projects and NCFAD's annual foreign animal disease course. Two current technology development projects include: 1) development of immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques for detecting classical swine fever virus antigens in frozen and fixed tissue sections from infected pigs, and 2) peptide mapping and synthesis to identify the E2 binding site which determines specificity of a competitive ELISA for detecting CSF.

Existing diagnostic tests for CSF include:

1. Detection of virus antigen in frozen tissue sections

Tonsil is the tissue of choice but spleen, lymph node, kidney, and terminal ileum are also useful. The Unit is currently evaluating polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies linked to fluorescent and peroxidase based detection systems. These reagents are being tested on PK-15 cells inoculated with a number of different isolates of CSFV as well as tissues from pigs that have been inoculated with CSFV isolates Alfort/187 (high virulence), Netherlands/97 (medium virulence) and Glentorf (low virulence). Immunostaining of frozen tissue sections can be carried out within one working day and employs a polyclonal screening reagent followed by confirmation using a CSFV-specific monoclonal reagent.

2. Virus isolation in cell culture

Protocols are in place for isolating CSFV from tissues using PK-15 cells. The Unit is in the process of evaluating a second porcine kidney cell line (SK-6) that is being used in a number of European laboratories. Virus isolation from whole blood taken from experimentally infected febrile pigs is being compared with RT-PCR. An immunoperoxidase reaction is used to detect infected cultures grown in 96 well culture dishes at 24 and 48 hours post-inoculation. Flatbottom culture flasks (25 cm2) are also used in our virus isolation protocol. Detection of CSFV infected cultures involves a two step process. The first step employs a polyclonal antisera capable of detecting CSFV as well as BVDV. The second step involves uses monoclonal antibodies specific for CSFV and BVDV. Virus isolation and identification can take anywhere from a minimum of three days to over a week. The time required can be influenced by a number of factors including: the type specimens submitted, virus load in the tissues, stage of disease when animals are sampled, strain of virus, and specimen quality.

3. RT-PCR and nucleic acid sequencing

The Unit is using a RT-PCR/Nested-PCR procedure which targets the 5' non-translated (5'-NTR) region of the CSFV genome. Preliminary results using blood from CSFV-infected febrile pigs have been very encouraging. Sequence information obtained from the 5'-NTR and E2 gene can be used in phylogenetic analysis and hence molecular epidemiology studies. The Unit is in the process of determining the earliest time point post-inoculation that the 5'-NTR RT-PCR/Nested-PCR procedure can detect CSF virus in blood. These results are being compared with those obtained with virus isolation in PK-15 cells. A minimum of two to three days will be required from the time when a sample arrives at the laboratory to when results can be confirmed by nucleic acid sequencing.

4. Serology

Serologic based assays are typically only useful for identifying pigs that have been infected for at least 3 weeks. Our "gold standard" serological test is the neutralization peroxidase-linked assay. This is an OIE prescribed test and can be used as a screening as well as confirmatory test for detecting the presence of antibodies to CSFV. The disadvantages of this test are: it is very labour intensive and it requires three to four days to run. In order for Canada to have the capability of rapidly screening a large number of samples, a competitive ELISA was jointly developed by ADRI, Nepean and NCFAD. This assay uses a recombinant E2 protein derived from the Alfort/187 strain of CSFV and the MAb M1669 which was derived from mice immunized with the above recombinant protein. A technology development project is now underway with the primary goal of characterizing the epitope to which M1669 maps and to determine whether this epitope is conserved among all CSFV isolates sequenced to date. Due to the large number and diversity of CSF viruses, this information will be crucial for determining how widely applicable this assay will be. The performance of this ELISA will be compared with that of two commercially available CSF ELISA kits.

There have been no occurrences of CSF in Canada since 1962. A national swine serum bank has been maintained since 1985. Every three to four years, a national serological survey is conducted at slaughter plants and assembly yards to verify Canada's continuing freedom from CSF. The Unit is currently collecting serum for 2001- 2002. The serum bank is employed for diagnostic test development and retrospective disease assessments as necessary. Surveillance is carried out daily at the meat inspection level in federally inspected plants.

INFORMATION ON VETERINARY SERVICES

The term "National Animal Health Program" describes the traditional import, export, domestic disease control and foreign animal disease preparedness activities undertaken by Canada's national veterinary service. Program elements are conceived and modified in consultation with industry and other stakeholders. Subcommittees are created to address specific issues and meet on an as needed basis. Programs are centrally funded by the Government of Canada through the venue of the CFIA, with a degree of cost-recovery for services exacted in several activities. Staff dedicated to program design and audit are located in Ottawa and a series of "program network" locations distributed across the country. The CFIA comprises two Program Networks, 18 Regional Operations Offices, 22 Laboratories, 85 Field Offices, over 400 officers in processing facilities and a workforce of over 4,500 highly-skilled employees. Those assigned to animal health program delivery are strategically placed in reflection of livestock and poultry population densities, the level of control and eradication activity underway and the degree of international commerce involved.
Within the same Agency resides Canada's Meat Inspection Program, responsible for inspection of more than 95% of Canada's annual domestic slaughter. Virtually all the balance is inspected by staff of sub-national veterinary services funded by provincial governments. Information as to the staffing levels and activities of the National Animal Health Program can be viewed at: www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/heasane.shtml/.

Jointly to the National Animal Health Program, the Canadian Animal Health Network (CAHNet) was created in 1997 as a communications link federal, provincial, laboratory, veterinary colleges and industry partners. CAHNet enhances communications and collaboration in animal health. Issues are shared between national and sub-national levels. This mechanism permits the early recognition of human health and safety issues, as well as trade-sensitive issues which might demand research or the involvement of mainstream National Veterinary Service activities. CAHNet's history and functions can be reviewed at www.cahnet.org.

Strategic alliances successfully link government and the private sector. With the cooperation of federally inspected slaughter plants and private assembly yards, sow serological surveys are conducted at regular intervals through the National Animal Disease Surveillance Program. Swine Exotic Disease Management Plan and Regionalization workshops were held in 2000, including representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, national and provincial producer associations, veterinary practitioners, universities, provincial swine extension specialists and provincial veterinarians.

FOCAL POINTS: NAME, POSITION, ELECTRONIC MAIL

Dr. Brian Evans, Chief Veterinary Officer for Canada, CFIA bevans@inspection.gc.ca
www.inspection.gc.ca

Dr. Dorothy Geale, Senior Staff Veterinarian, Foreign Animal Disease dgeale@inspection.gc.ca

National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease jpasick@inspection.gc.ca
Dr. John Pasick, A/Head Microbiology

Mr. Martin Rice, Executive Secretary, Canadian Pork Council www.cpc-ccp.com

Canadian Swine Breeders Association www.canswine.ca
(Represents swine breeders and producers)

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Market information) www.agr.ca/misb

Statistics Canada (Census data) www.statcan.ca
Land and Resources data base