Pork producers will be now required to report cases of a deadly virus that has spread to Indiana and at least 27 other states, as the USA takes steps to battle the spread of the disease.
The disease, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), has been verified in Boone County hog herds, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said. Through March, the virus has been confirmed in 42 other Indiana counties, the BAH said, causing the loss of tens of thousands of piglets.
Nation-wide, more than 5,400 cases have been verified in 28 states, the USDA said in the Friday announcement that reports of the disease would now be required. Losses of piglets nation-wide are in the millions.
More than one type of PEDv has been found in U.S. swine herds, researchers at the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory told National Hog Farmer magazine in March.
Also included in the USDA reporting requirements announced Friday are cases of swine delta coronovirus (SDCV), a disease unrelated to PEDv that causes similar symptoms. Cases of SDCV were first reported in the U.S. at four Ohio hog farms, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said in February.
Producers must also track the movement of pigs, vehicles and other equipment leaving facilities where PEDv has been found, the USDA said.
“Today’s actions will help identify gaps in biosecurity and help us as we work together to stop the spread of these diseases and the damage caused to producers, industry and ultimately consumers,” Vilsack said in a press release.
Neither PEDv or SDCV can spread to humans, nor is either disease a risk to food safety, the USDA and ODA said.
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