Market analyst Steve Meyer estimates that Porcine Epidemic
Diarrhea virus has claimed eight per cent of the U.S. hog population since it
first appeared there in May, 2013.
There are no estimates for Canadian losses since PED virus
first showed up in Middlesex County in late January.
There were 79 more U.S. barns confirmed with
the disease last week, increasing the total to 7,603.
The number of weekly outbreaks has declined
dramatically from highs in the winter. The virus lasts longer under cold
conditions, so it spreads easier from farm to farm, mainly via sick pigs, in
manure that is in trucks, on boots or clothing.
