Researchers have identified a third
strain of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus killing young hogs across the United
States.
It’s equal to, or worse, than the
original strain, reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the
American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
The new strain was recently confirmed
by the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, but it was
actually first identified in June, 2013.
“Three naturally occurring U.S. PEDV
strains have been identified: the original PEDV, the PEDV with changes in the
spike gene (INDEL), and the PEDV strain (S2aadel),” the swine veterinarians’
association says in an article available on the internet.
“The role of genetic changes in the
US PEDV strains to clinical disease has yet to be reported. The clinical
presentation of diarrhea in this case was reported as equally or more severe
than such presentation in cases caused by the prototype PEDV Colorado/2013,”
says the report.
The CDC adds that though the North
American PEDv variant-INDEL strain was only recently identified, it was first
detected in June 2013 and reported in February 2014 by the Ohio Department of
Agriculture.
This suggests the original PEDv
strain mutated or two different PEDv strains were introduced into the U.S. at
the same time.
Since it was first identified in U.S.
hog herds in April 2013, PEDv had killed an estimated eight million pigs.
It is a fast-spreading disease that
thrives in cold weather, and it doesn’t take much of infected feces to spread
the infection. One gram of feces diluted in 24,000 gallons of water is still
enough to infect pigs.
In June, U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the department would pump $26
million into fighting the disease, including $11.1 million to support better
ons-farm biosecurity. Vilsack also announced mandatory PEDv reporting.
There’s more about the recent outbreak at https://www.aasv.org .
