Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus has hit a finishing
operation in Bruce County
It is the 120th case in the province and the second
this month. On Feb. 1 a finishing operation in the Waterloo Region came down
with the virus and on Jan. 25 a finishing barn in Oxford County.
Winter weather leads to higher virus survival and therefore
a greater risk that it will spread.
The continued spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus is
worrisome because it indicates that the industry’s biosecurity measures are inadequate.
That is doubly worrisome in the face of the spread of African Swine Fever, a
much more deadly and contagious disease, in China and Eastern Europe. If that disease ever broke out in Canada, it would lead to the immediate loss of export markets which buy 70 per cent of Canadian production.
The virus from China has been found in pork sent to
Australia and Taiwan and there are warnings that it can spread in feed
ingredients, as did Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus in feed sold by Grand
Valley Fortifiers of Cambridge, leading to the initial outbreaks in Ontario.
