The Director of Animal Health with Hylife says the emotional experience of dealing with Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDv) is much worse than most people realise.
“It is very bad,” says Dr Talbot, “It’s even worse than anyone can think of, mostly in a sow barn. It is something you never forget in your life. It’s something that affects your day to day…It changes the way you think about biosecurity, biocontainment. It’s not something you ever forget.”
Read more at The Pig Site
PED affects swine of all ages causing acute diarrhoea and can lead to severe dehydration and death in suckling piglets. Being recognized for the first time in Europe and Asia during the seventies and the eighties, respectively, it has remained a relevant cause of diarrhea outbreaks in Asia for years and to the present.
It has become a major concern in swine production since 2013 when the virus was detected for first time in the USA and in other Western countries causing a high number of pig deaths and significant economic losses. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed the first PED diagnosis in the United States on May 17, 2013 in Iowa.
Economic loss occurs directly in the form of death and production loss in swine. Further monetary loss occurs because of the cost of vaccination and biosecurity. There is no effective treatment other than control of secondary infections. Vaccines exist in Japan, South Korea, and China, but not in Europe or the United States.
Read more at Porcine Health Management
