Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus first made its way to the United States in the spring of 2013, devastating swine production across the country. While the virus was most prevalent during 2013 and 2014, its impact continues to be felt by the swine industry, even more than a decade later. The virus remains a significant threat, capable of causing widespread illness and mortality, particularly among young pigs.

To address this persistent challenge, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and the National Pork Board, in collaboration with the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan, have formed PEDV Elimination Task Forces. Their goal is ambitious: to eliminate PEDV from the United States. A formal decision was made to work towards the eradication of PEDV, and ongoing efforts are being made to develop effective strategies for achieving this goal. US SHIP approved a resolution to explore the potential for PEDV certification at their annual meeting. An additional resolution was passed at USHA annual meeting for USDA to support the US SHIP resolution. Manitoba is well into a PEDV control program with the goal of eradication as well.

Until the national elimination of PEDV is achieved, swine producers must focus on preventing the virus from entering (bioexclusion) and spreading within their operations (biocontainment). One of the key features in the Manitoba plan is not waiting until there is a clinical break, but rather practicing biocontainment procedures proactively. Implementing a combination of preventive and intervention strategies is crucial for reducing the risk of PEDV infections. Below are key steps swine producers can take to safeguard their farms from PEDV.

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1. Identify and understand risk factors

PEDV prevention starts with limiting the impact of known risk factors. Infected pigs serve as a direct threat to naïve pigs. Segregate known positive pigs, limiting traffic to positive sites and developing a site visit order that allows for positive sites to be visited at the end of the day with a full clean-up before re-entering negative sites. We know that contaminated trailers can serve as a vector for PEDV transmission. Herds that practice routine washing, disinfection and drying between loads experience less transmission. Equipment or supplies that are entered into positive sites can be contaminated and serve as fomites that can infect negative pigs. Limit movement of these between sites. Live virus can be maintained in manure for a period of time following infection. Understand that manure removal can lead to virus exposure to pigs if pumping biosecurity is poorly managed.

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2. Biocontainment measures

When dealing with PEDV-positive pigs, one of the most important steps in preventing further spread is applying effective biocontainment, which are practices that control the movement of virus through people, animals and equipment.

Common biocontainment measures include:

3. Addressing the risks of marketing and transportation

Trailers that visit cull depots and packing plants serve as a significant risk for PEDV transmission. To protect sow farms and reduce the chance of introducing PEDV from marketing movements, many producers have implemented dedicated transportation systems. For example, even if a wean-to-finish site is PEDV negative, there is still a risk of brining PEDV to the site and infecting the population if trailers are come back to the site after a market load with out washing or downtime. To protect the sow farm, many systems will not use trailers that haul market hogs as the same trailers to haul wean pigs, due to the risk of that trailer being contaminated from either a positive site or the packing plant.

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4. Handling PEDV-positive manure

We know that PEDV can survive and remain infectious in manure slurries for up to 28 days, possibly longer. Therefore, proper manure management is essential to preventing PEDV from spreading. When pumping manure from PEDV-positive sites, it is crucial to minimize the overlap of equipment, vehicles and personnel between contaminated and clean areas. If possible, manure from PEDV-positive sites should be pumped last, preventing the movement of contaminated equipment to clean sites. This minimizes the risk of introducing PEDV to unaffected areas. Use of site-specific pumps, hose, and/or tanks is highly recommended, when possible.

Conclusion

Although the battle against PEDV is ongoing, producers who take proactive measures to identify risks and implement strong biosecurity and management practices can significantly reduce the likelihood of an outbreak on their farms. While the ultimate goal is the national elimination of PEDV, these preventive strategies can help keep the virus out of individual systems, crucial to the health and productivity of swine herds across the country. As the industry continues to work toward eliminating PEDV, swine producers must remain vigilant, adopting and adhering to the latest biosecurity guidelines and best practices. By doing so, they can minimize the impact of this challenging virus and protect the future of the U.S. swine industry.