One of your clients who recently returned from a mission trip to The Democratic Republic of the Congo calls because he is concerned about some of his pigs that are slightly lame, and he thinks at least one of them has sores on its snout. He also has other animals, i.e. two dogs, farm cats, a couple of horses, goats, and sheep. What should you do:

• A. Examine the sick pigs only
• B. Look over all of the healthy animals on the farm first then proceed to the animals showing clinical signs
• C. Advise the owner to give antibiotics to the sick pigs
• D. Immediately contact state and federal authorities and not attempt to examine any animals yourself since this sounds like it could be FMD

Answer: (B)

When dealing with a farm outbreak of a suspected contagious disease, assess the whole operation first rather than focusing only on the obviously ill animals. A farm-wide survey helps you determine how far any illness may have spread, which species are affected, and what biosecurity steps are needed. In this scenario, lameness and possible vesicular lesions in pigs after international travel could indicate a highly contagious disease like foot-and-mouth disease, which can involve multiple cloven-hoofed species. By examining the healthy animals on the farm before moving on to those with signs, you establish a baseline, identify subclinical infections or additional cases, and prevent inadvertent spread during handling. This approach also guides appropriate sampling, isolation, and decontamination decisions and informs reporting to authorities as required. Antibiotics would not treat a viral vesicular disease, and while reporting to authorities is essential, you still need to conduct a thorough on-site farm assessment to characterize the outbreak.