16 September 2026: Novel disease syndrome in pigs in Europe
Updated 21 September 2026
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alerts-for-vets-emerging-and-endemic-disease-alert-system-eedas/16-september-2026-novel-disease-syndrome-in-pigs-in-europe
Situation
Vets attending pigs are asked to look out a new disease syndrome found in pigs in Netherlands and Denmark associated with a new parvovirus variant.
Details
The key clinical features seen in multiple pigs are bilateral exophthalmos (bulging eyes), strabismus (eyes point in different directions), generalised skin reddening, skin wrinkling and alopecia and reduced growth. Some pigs show respiratory signs. The first 2 clinical signs are unusual and striking, and their occurrence in multiple pigs with some description of skin pathology is likely to qualify as a suspect case for which there is funding at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for investigation. Morbidity is variable and can be high, mortality is low and most pigs recover.
It is most likely that affected pigs will be sucking piglets or weaners from 2 to 10 weeks of age. However, age is not a criterion for submission to APHA if the key clinical signs are present in other ages of pig. If you encounter suspect cases, please contact APHA’s Pig
Expert Group vet leads PigExpertGroup@apha.gov.uk or your local APHA Veterinary Investigation Centre.
Further information
An information note on this novel disease syndrome in pigs is also available.
Message sent from the Surveillance Intelligence Unit SIU@apha.gov.uk