Anthrax in pigs: a review

Abstract

Anthrax, a zoonotic disease of global health security relevance, is primarily a fatal disease of herbivores animals. Pigs are moderately resistant to the infection; however, succumb to infection upon ingestion of heavily contaminated feed stuffs with Bacillus anthracis. In India, anthrax outbreaks occurring in domestic as well as wild animals have been reported from several states especially in Southern and Eastern regions. Globally as well as nationally, reports on anthrax incidences in pig rearing regions are limited. Nevertheless, with the advent of intensified integrated livestock farming practices at rural and peri-urban areas, there is a threat of zoonotic disease transmission to humans from animals in the lapse of bio-security measures at farm level. The current review highlights the risk of anthrax occurrence in pigs, etiology, mode of transmission, pathogenesis, clinical signs and various control measures.