Ontario reported another case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus Dec. 2, its first since July 14.
The province has had 85 premises infected with the deadly hog disease, but many of those have been disinfected in the months since the first cases were found in January 2014.
Only 16 new cases were reported in 2015, including the most recent one.
Hog barns in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia remain free of PED, said Dr. Julia Keenliside, a veterinary epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture.
However, it doesn’t mean the virus isn’t circulating.
Read Also
Manitoba Parkland research station grapples with dry year
Drought conditions in northwestern Manitoba have forced researchers at the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation to terminate some projects and reseed others.
Keenliside said during an Alberta Pork conference call Dec. 9 that environmental sampling at assembly yards, abattoirs, truck washes and trucks in Alberta have found evidence of the virus, as well as its cousin, swine delta coronavirus.
Saskatchewan has had positive tests for delta coronavirus too, but Keenliside said they were likely the avian type of the disease. Available tests do not initially distinguish between the porcine and avian types.
Manitoba has had five premises infected with PED, but all are now “presumptive negative,” said Keenliside. “There has been strict biosecurity to eliminate PED from all the pig areas, and so testing has shown that the virus has been eliminated from the animals and the environment,” she said.
It’s possible the virus could remain in manure storage, and that will be monitored.
PED is now considered endemic in the United States and can be easily carried within manure on trucks and other surfaces. The virus thrives in cool, moist conditions so winter brings a higher risk of spread.
The virus is almost always fatal to young piglets, which die of dehydration and malnutrition.
