Airborne diseases, such as influenza A (IAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv), circulate on swine farms, costing the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
The behavior and spatial organization of animal populations can be influenced by the availability of food, disease spread in a territory, population density, seasonal changes, mating behaviors, and human influence.
Lawsonia intracellularis, a type of bacteria that lives in the cells that line a pig’s intestine, causes proliferative enteropathy disease, which is one of the most prevalent diseases in pigs in the United States.
Worker honeybees feed, groom, and tend to the queen throughout her lifetime, which could theoretically provide an opportunity for pathogens to spread from the workers to the queen.