Farmers say a wasting disease in pigs is still spreading, years after it was first spotted here. Post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome attacks young pigs, causing weight loss, diarrhoea and breathing problems.

New Zealand Pork chief Sam McIvor says PMWS is still infecting new farms. He says 80 percent of South Island farms now have it, and it has cost the economy more than $40 million.

This disease causes illness in piglets, with clinical signs including progressive loss of body condition, visibly enlarged lymph nodes, difficulty in breathing, and sometimes diarrhea, pale skin, and jaundice.

PMWS is caused by porcine circovirus type 2.

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