New research indicates flies can spread Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus.
It might also explain why there are more outbreaks during cold weather when hog operations are less likely to practice fly control.
But the virus is also known to survive longer in cool conditions.
Even a few flies have the ability to infect pigs with PED virus, says veterinarian Grant Allison at the Walcott, Iowa, Veterinary Clinic.
Flies captured on swine operations amid outbreaks of PED virus and Senecavirus A, tested positive as carriers of the viruses in Iowa and Minnesota studies.
In the case of Senecavirus A as well as PED virus, flies transmitted live virus—the first known such findings in a commercial setting.
Flies multiply in wet manure “so there’s an intimate relationship between manure and virus and flies,” Allison said.
