USDA announced it was dedicating $26.2 million in funding to combat porcine epidemic diarrhea firus (PEDV) and Swine Delta Coronavirus.  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, “In the last year, industry has estimated PEDV has killed some 7 million piglets and caused tremendous hardship for many American pork producers.  The number of market-ready hogs this summer could fall by more than 10 percent relative to 2013 because of PEDV. Together with industry and our state partners, the steps we will take through the Federal Order will strengthen the response to PEDV and these other viruses and help us lessen the impact to producers.” 

The USDA funding will be used for various activities, including:

•       $3.9 million to be used by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to support the development of vaccines

•       $2.4 million to cooperative agreement funding for States to support management and control activities

•       $500,000 to herd veterinarians to help with development and monitoring of herd management plans and sample collection

•       $11.1 million in cost-share funding for producers of infected herds to support biosecurity practices.

•       $2.4 million for diagnostic testing $1.5 million to National Animal Health Laboratory Network diagnostic laboratories for genomic sequencing for newly positive herds.

Additionally, USDA issued a Federal Order requiring the reporting of new detections of these viruses to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or state animal health officials.