Circo virus has has always been in Ontario pigs, but suddenly it began abandoning its life as a recluse and has begun showing up apparently as the cause of diseases. The virus has not appeared in eastern Ontario herds.

The virus, which is circle-shaped, has been showing up in a lot of sick pigs, says Dr. Tim Blackwell, lead vet in swine health for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The pigs die from pneumonia or some other disease but an autopsy also turns up Circo Virus.

Though the extent of damage to the industry is not well known, he estimates that when mortality, culls and lightweights are considered, farms with the problem lose between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of their herds.

Dr. Blackwell wouldn’t say how many farms are having problem but said the virus is found in all organs of the body.

He says there are various theories for the sudden he main fear is that the virus might have mutated, gone from cold to hot or from "not disease-causing to disease-causing".

The virus has been active in western Ontario and southern Quebec but not in eastern Ontario. The reason? It might be because eastern Ontario has a lower density population of pigs. But Blackwell is willing to bet the virus is living in eastern hogs.

Kinburn producer Brian Hudson, west of Ottawa, says he just signed a good contract with Olymel in Quebec for heavy hogs. He say the aggressive bidding by the Quebec processor has been caused by a three per cent drop in hog production in Quebec because of disease pressure.