Detected in the spring of 2013, the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) is a highly contagious virus causing severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration, especially in young piglets. Dr. Marisa Rotolo, DVM, Ph.D., director of swine health for the National Pork Board, said PEDv research has led to a better understanding of biosecurity and disease transmission.
“It’s hard to lose animals to disease. No one wants to lose pigs, let alone young piglets, right? It can be challenging, but we’ve also learned a lot about the importance of feed in transport biosecurity and have made real progress in these areas to help mitigate the impact of PEDv. Not only PEDv but other swine diseases.”
Dr. Rotolo, co-chair of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ PEDv task force, is leading a two-year effort to assess whether the industry is prepared for a national eradication program.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. There are a lot of different steps that we have to take. So, the ASD has assisted this task force in giving us five goals. And so first it’s, you know, what are our biosecurity gaps? How do we determine if we’re making progress on PEDs? What tools do we have available to aid in a national eradication program? Should we go down that route? And then, how can we leverage a program such as U.S. SHIP to help facilitate this step towards PED eradication?”
Dr. Rotolo said the most important thing a pork producer can do to prevent or limit disease spread is to consider biosecurity with the help of a veterinarian.
“So, work with their veterinarian. Look at their biosecurity in the sense of what their protocols are as it relates to feed. What are their protocols as it relates to transport? The first resource I would recognize would be one, their swine veterinarian, and two, to help provide some background information, look at the Secure Pork Supply Plan. That’s going to be an enhanced biosecurity program for pork producers when they learn about what different resources they have out there for biosecurity.”
Producers can develop an enhanced biosecurity plan through Secure Pork Supply, found at securepork.org.