Veterinarian Warns Farmers to Watch for Pig Virus
A virus new to the United
States is proving to be fatal to pig
populations according to West
Virginia University Extension
Service’s veterinarian Darin
Matlick. Experts are urging farmers
to be on the lookout for symptoms
of the porcine epidemic diarrhea
virus, also known as PEDV, in their
pigs. PEDV results in pigs suffering
from diarrhea, vomiting and high
death rates – proving particularly
harmful to piglets that have not been
weaned. It transmits only to other
pigs and does not infect humans or
other livestock.
The virus poses no risk to food
safety. However, food prices may
be affected if the supply for pig
products like ham and bacon is
limited due to high death rates from the virus.
The virus spreads when pigs make oral contact with
infected feces. Even trace amounts of feces from boots or
truck beds could result in an outbreak of PEDV.
“Farmers have to be cautious that they aren’t cross
contaminating areas by walking through potentially
infected materials, like manure, and then entering into
the area where their pigs are kept,” Matlick warns.
Matlick says farmers should be particularly cautious
in the upcoming fairs and festivals season. “Many of
the fairs and festivals organizers are putting in new
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22 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
procedures to help limit the risk for contamination,” he
explains. These procedures may include eliminating a
central weigh-in location, avoiding animal co-mingling
or keeping the pigs on the trailers in which they arrive.
Pigs exposed to PEDV will begin showing
symptoms within 24 hours. The infected animals are
then contagious to other pigs for three to four weeks.
Farmers should care for infected pigs by keeping the
animals hydrated and providing them with clean,
draft-free environments. High quality drinking water
with electrolytes may be beneficial. The virus can
be diagnosed by most veterinarians by sending a
pig intestine sample to a pathology laboratory, or by
checking the feces for a polymerase chain reaction.
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