While new cases have been confirmed in Ontario, expert says excellent biosecurity throughout the industry has kept the West PED-free
Three new cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea were confirmed in Ontario in late February and early March.
The virus was confirmed March 1 in a Perth County finisher barn, Feb. 29 in an Essex County farrow-to-finish barn and Feb. 24 in a Chatham-Kent County finisher barn. Two previous cases were confirmed Feb. 9 in Perth and Middlesex counties.
British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan remain free of the virus, and the five cases in Manitoba have been eliminated, according to Alberta Agriculture veterinary epidemiologist Dr. Julia Keenliside.
“We can say that Western Canada is free of porcine epidemic diarrhea, which is just fantastic,” Keenliside said during an Alberta Pork conference call March 9.
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“We are one of the few pig producing regions in the entire world that has managed to keep PED out, and I think we should all be very proud of that. I think everybody in the pork industry, from producers and people in the barn right up to our transporters, our veterinarians, our processors, everybody can take some credit for that.”
Keenliside said environmental surveillance for evidence of the virus is continuing for PED and a related virus, swine delta coronavirus. Evidence of the latter virus has been found in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but no barns have been infected.
Both viruses have been deemed reportable diseases in the four western provinces.
“If anyone suspects the disease is there, they see the diarrhea, the classical clinical signs, they are obligated by law to report it to the chief provincial vet for that province,” said Keenliside.
She said Ontario, which has had 93 confirmed cases of PED since it was first found in Canada two years ago, has been steadily reducing the number of infected premises. Quebec, which had 16 infected premises, is now PED-free.
“Pigs move a lot between provinces,” said Keenliside, which makes the recent Ontario cases a concern for all producers. She en-couraged inter-provincial co-operation and continued biosecurity vigilance.
New cases continue to be confirmed in the United States, where PED was first identified three years ago, but at a much slower pace than before, Keenliside said.
“The U.S. does remain a risk of infection for Canada. I think we have to remember that assembly yards, particularly those that contact the U.S. in U.S. trucks, should always be considered suspect.”
The pork industry is also alert to the possibility of Seneca Valley virus affecting pigs. Though not particularly dangerous to animals, it has symptoms similar to foot-and-mouth disease and can be mistaken for the trade-limiting illness.
Seneca Valley virus has been found in the U.S.
“We’ve not had any cases here in Canada of the blisters,” said Keenliside. “There’s a lot to be learned about this one, and we really aren’t sure how it’s spread or how the blisters show up, and so more research is needed on this one.”
