Keynote speakers at the University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture Program annual Swine Institute in Columbia on Nov. 13 will highlight containment of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus.

Bryan Myers, DVM, of the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic of Farley, IA, and Linda Hickam, state veterinarian for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, will address PEDV in the evening session of the meeting at the Courtyard Marriott.

Myers and Hickam will address the virus as a disease as well as methods to control an outbreak and minimize spread should one occur at a producer’s facility.

“In four months, PEDV has gone from an unknown disease to the most talked about swine disease other than PRRS virus,” Myers says. “Moving across the United States, it has infected hundreds of farms and thousands of pigs.”

Introduction of PED virus into a naïve herd results in acute outbreaks of severe diarrhea and vomiting, he said.  “Morbidity and mortality in a population ranges from 40 to 100%. Mortality in very young pigs can reach 100%.”

Infected grow-finish pigs and sows will become ill and are set back, but most recover from the virus. Myers has become an expert on PEDV containment and disinfection strategies from working with producers dealing with outbreaks and through his subsequent research.

“The financial implications of a PED virus outbreak can be extensive and devastating to the profitability of a farm,” he says. “Although a diagnosis of PED virus is relatively easy, control and elimination has proven to be difficult. Many farms have attempted elimination with herd stabilization and closure with variable rates of success. Strict biosecurity protocols have been implemented to try and prevent the spread of the virus and the introduction of virus into a naïve farm.”

Tim Safranski, University of Missouri Extension genetics/reproductive specialist, says biosecurity from swine barns to transport trailers to packing plants is imperative in preventing the virus from spreading. “Importantly, new data on the source of transmission beyond fecal-oral transmission is emerging daily.”

The Commercial Agriculture Program annual Swine Institutes are designed to inform Missouri swine industry leaders of the latest research and analysis impacting swine production.

Members of the Commercial Agriculture Program’s Swine Focus Team will present “rapid-fire topics.” They will address animal welfare audits and present an update on Missouri concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) rules regarding construction permits as well as news about a biofilter and anaerobic digester. Bob Broz, University of Missouri Extension water quality specialist, will provide an update on a nutrient reduction strategy for Missouri.

Attendees will receive insight from the National Pork Producers Council and the National Pork Board, and an update on the Farm Bill from Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (AFPRI) director Pat Westhoff. University of Missouri agricultural economist Ron Plain will offer his popular market outlook forecast and update producers on country-of-origin labeling (COOL).

University of Missouri Extension economists Ray Massey and Ryan Milhollin will give a presentation on livestock insurance. Massey, John Lory and Marcia Shannon will demonstrate how feed-manure optimization has the potential to benefit an operation.

To register for the 2013 Swine Institute, call Kate Stottle at (573) 882-9551 or go to www.agebb.missouri.edu/CommAg/SwineInstitute. For other inquiries, contact Joe Zulovich at (573) 882-0868 or [email protected].