More samples have tested positive for Porcine Epidemic
Diarrhea virus in Manitoba, but it’s not yet clear whether more herds have been
infected.
The tests are turning up at “high-traffic sites” which have
not been publicly identified. They could be assembly yards, trucking firms,
packing plants or auction barns.
In one recent case, pigs tested positive, but veterinarians
think they may have picked up the virus at a high-traffic site.
Infection at a high-traffic site could be trucks or manure
returning from infected places in the United States or Ontario, not from an
infected farm in Manitoba.
So far Manitoba has had only one official confirmation of
the disease on a farm. Quebec and Nova Scotia also have single cases confirmed,
but Quebec has also had cases of PED identified at a packing plant.
Ontario is the Canadian hot spot with 57 infected farms. The
initial outbreaks which began in late January are believed to be from infected
feed ingredient imported from the U.S.
Then there has been spread to other farms via traffic, such
as trucks and people carrying manure.
Three more Ontario cases have been reported by the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food, bringing the total to 57.
The three latest cases are a finisher barn in Huron County,
a nursery in TBC and a
farrow-to-finish barn in Elgin County.
Ontario is also finding PED at high-traffic sites which are
not included in the totals reported by OMAF.
