| Description |
Aujeszky's disease, also known as pseudorabies, is caused by an alphaherpesvirus that infects the central nervous system and other organs, such as the respiratory tract, in a variety of mammals except humans and the tailless apes. It is associated primarily with pigs, the natural host, which remain latently infected following clinical recovery (except piglets under 2 weeks old, which die from encephalitis). The disease is controlled by containment of infected herds and by the use of vaccines and/or removal of latently infected animals. |