IMPROVED METHODS TO CONTROL PORCINE EPIDEMIC DIARRHEA VIRUS.

A university of Nebraska–Lincoln research by Amy Millmier Schmidt, assistant professor and livestock bioenvironmental engineer in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering., is giving swine producers and veterinarians potential methods to manage and prevent the spread of PEDv. PEDv is spread among pigs through the fecal to oral route. It causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration, typically less than one day following exposure. While older pigs will experience performance losses once infected with PEDv, the virus carries a nearly 100 percent mortality rate in pre-weaned piglets. The virus is highly virulent, which makes controlling its spread within and among swine operations particularly challenging. The PEDv has a similar effect on older pigs as the stomach flu does on humans; the signs include decrease feed intake, loss of weight and are non productivity. The loss of productivity results in an economic loss for the industry because it takes longer for the animals to reach market weight. The control methods are as follows: 1)Carcass removal One area the group has been investigating is composting carcasses testing positive for PEDv. Burial is common practice with PEDv mortalities, which may be problematic because the virus thrives in cool, moist conditions. To ascertain whether composting could eliminate the infectious virus, the researchers constructed three compost bins in which PEDv-positive pigs were composted in biosecure rooms on UNL’s East Campus. Sensors were placed inside the compost piles to monitor temperature and organic matter, and water was added to the bins, as needed, throughout two composting cycles. Testing of the compost material at the conclusion of the cycles found no evidence of PEDv. Properly handling and disposing of mortalities is a crucial step in reducing the risk of virus transmission. The team believe that composting is an effective method to dispose of on-farm mortalities and this will help limit the spread of PEDv when the piles are constructed and managed properly to achieve internal pile temperatures of 120 to 130 degrees F. 2) Changing pH levels in manure Schmidt and her colleagues also looked at adding lime to manure containing the PED virus to determine if a significant pH change in the manure would eliminate the infectious virus. Results revealed that treating manure with lime to raise the manure pH to 10 for at least one hour will eliminate infectious virus in the manure, though Schmidt suspects that a lower pH may be equally effective. Testing during the past several months has revealed that this virus is extremely sensitive to pH, and researchers suspect that it may not be necessary to raise the manure pH all the way to 10 to inactivate the virus. However, they won’t be able to confirm this until additional experiments are completed. 3) Farm bio security The team's current focus is on demonstrating and promoting disease control and prevention measures on-farm and working with pork producers to create a culture of vigilant preparedness and prevention to minimize impacts of future disease outbreaks. All business decisions come down to economics so the team wants to demonstrate that the cost of investing in on-farm bio security practices is far less than the costs associated with lost productivity, decontamination, and remediation of a farm following a disease outbreak. source wattagnet.

PORCINE EPIDEMIC DIARRHOEA.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDv) is devastating in herds especially in Asia and North America although the recent outbreaks of PEDv-like strains in Europe appear less destructive. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED) is an economically important enteric disease in pigs caused by a Corona virus. Corona viruses can be divided into the genera Alpha corona virus, Beta corona virus, Gammacoronavirus and Deltacoronavirus. The Alpha corona viruses including Transmissible Gastroenteritis virus (TGEv), Porcine Respiratory Coronavirus (PRCv) and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDv) are the most important in swine. While TGEv and PRCv belong to the Alpha corona virus 1 species, PEDv belongs to a separate species within the same genus. The Beta corona viruses induce severe diseases in humans like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-Cov) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-Cov), the Beta corona virus affecting pigs called Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis virus (HEv) is of minor importance for the swine industry. The Delta corona virus infections (porcine Delta corona virus, PDCov) were reported in pigs in Asia and North America which caused enteric diseases similar to PEDv but of lower clinical impact and disease severity. PED first appeared as acute diarrhoea in finishing pigs in the early 1970s in the UK and subsequently spread fast across Europe causing acute outbreaks of diarrhoea in pigs of all age groups. The routes of PEDv transmission between different areas, countries and even continents remain poorly understood. The origin of recently identified PEDv strains in Europe showing high nucleotide similarity to US S-INDEL PEDv strains remains unclear. It is not known if those strains have been circulating in the European pig population for a long time or if they were recently introduced into Europe. The various methods to applied so far to control PED virus on farms, include the following 1) Increasing sow immunity can be achieved by giving feedback. This usually involves feeding intestines or diarrheic faces from acutely infected piglets to sows to convey immunity. Different protocols are followed; no additives should be added. 2) Weaning down is also a much applied strategy – this means weaning at about ten days of age. 3)Improving biosecurity. 4)Applying strict disinfection, e.g. using Synergize, Virkon S. 5)Vaccinating. There are two inactivated vaccines available. The best success is usually achieved in pre-infected herds.

PORCINE EPIDEMIC DIARRHOEA VIRUS .(PEDV)

PED is to become a notifiable disease in England from Friday December 18,2015 and pig-keepers and vets will be legally required to inform the Animal and Plant Health Agency of any suspicion of the disease. PED remains a significant threat to British pig-keepers. Outbreaks of high-impact strains caused up to 100% mortality in young pigs in the United States, knocking out around 10% of pig production in 2013-2014. The disease has since spread to Ukraine. Even with milder European Union strains, piglet mortality as high as 70% has been reported.The aim will be to prevent spread of PED and to eliminate the disease from the pig unit. There will be no requirement to slaughter affected animals. story credit; pig process.