Merial highlights impact of swine flu in England

Merial has highlighted a report which it says illustrates the impact of swine flu among livestock owned by farmers in England.

Richard Neto, a veterinary advisor for the animal health company, states that the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and the COSI Consortium research should encourage producers to take preventative action, reports FarmingUK.

According to RVC data presented at this year's International Pig Veterinary Society meeting and collated from a study of 146 facilities, 59 per cent of English farms had at least one pig which tested positive for H1N1, H1N2 or H3N2 influenza.

The avian-like H1N1 was the most common strain, while 18 per cent of farms housed animals with both H1N1 and H1N2 strains.

Mr Neto warned that the condition can have a serious impact on the welfare and productivity of animals.

He added: "The disease has a significant economic effect and in some cases can be quite disastrous."

Merial will soon merge with Intervet/Schering-Plough to form a new company called Merial-Intervet, which will be led by Raul Kohan as chief executive officer.