DES MOINES, Iowa — With enough commitment, U.S. hog producers can eliminate porcine epidemic diarrhea.
That was the shared position of a number of leading American swine veterinarians at the World Pork Expo.
“I believe that we can get it eliminated,” said Laura Dalquist, a veterinarian with the Swine Vet Centre. “I think it’s possible.”
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However, success will hinge upon an enormous amount of work and diligence, vets said. Testing will need to be available as needed and compliance across the industry is necessary.
“Everybody was on board,” said Dr. Deb Murray about the historically successful efforts to eliminate pseudorabies and classical swine fever. “It wasn’t a choice. Everybody was doing it.”
PED arrived in the mid-2010s and spread through North America’s hog farms. It appears to be cyclical, with a two-year pattern of one bad year and one better year.
The disease took a few years to appear in southern Manitoba, but when it did, huge numbers of piglets died.
Farmers in the U.S. have been living with PED for years, but Manitoba’s hog industry decided last year to attempt eradication within the province. Adopting that goal is now being discussed in the U.S., after the living-with-it approach has proven too costly.
However, as Murray said, elimination won’t likely happen unless every producer is part of the effort. Dr. Guilherme Cezar of Iowa State University said nobody wants to go through the work of eliminating the disease in their barns only to be re-infected by a neighbour who isn’t bothering to do the same.
Controlling PED “should be mandatory” if the industry attempts to try that approach.
“If it’s not the whole industry trying to eliminate this pathogen, I don’t think it’s going to work,” said Cezar.
Now producers need to embrace the goal of elimination, Murray said.
“If there’s enough of a push, and enough of a producer push … it’s doable.”
