(6) Health costs. The Mexican hog sector still faces many problems related
to the inadequate health control strategies followed by the Government:
- Mexico lacks adequate diagnosis centers.
- Mexico lacks proper infrastructure for controlling the movement of
livestock.
- Mexico lacks adequate controls on backyard farms.
- In some areas, health status is more a political than a technical issue.
For those reasons, Mexico still has Classical Swine Fever (CSF) and
Aujeszky’s Disease, in addition to a number of other diseases that affect hog
production, including Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome
(PRRS), Circovirus, Mycoplasma, Salmonella, and Ileitis. Of these diseases,
CSF and PRRS have the strongest impact on the competitiveness of Mexican
hog producers. Figure 4 illustrates the current health status for CSF.