Thursday, July 11, 2013

Swine disease still spreading


The new hog disease, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, continues to spread in the United States.

The count is now beyond 330 cases in 16 states, up from about 230 in 14 states a week ago.

This is despite pleas to all involved in the industry to take the highest degree of precautions to keep the disease from spreading.

It’s a killer of piglets, arriving from China where millions of pigs have died.

The disease has shown up in grower-finisher barns from Texas north to Indiana and Michigan, from Colorado in the west to North Carolina in the east.

Iowa has the most – 130 cases.

Canadians have been repeatedly urged to adopt strict biosecurity measures to keep the disease out of the country. That includes a warning that some truck-wash centres recycle water, so could spread - rather than clean away - contamination.