Why PEDV Elimination is Within Reach

Written by Dr. Marisa Rotolo, director of swine health, National Pork Board

PEDV can enter a farm through contaminated trucks, footwear, equipment and other common contact points. Once introduced, it can spread quickly and cause significant animal health and production losses. When you consider that roughly 55-60% of U.S. commercial breeding herds have been exposed to the virus at one time or another,¹ PEDV remains a challenge worth tackling together.

So, it’s no surprise that the producer-led Swine Health Advisory Committee prioritized updating the national PEDV elimination framework as part of the National Swine Health Strategy.

Eliminating PEDV nationwide is ambitious. But the science, tools and industry experience already in place give us a strong starting point.

Why PEDV, and Why Now?

Forged by producers for producers, the National Swine Health Strategy launched earlier this year to track down and neutralize herd health threats. Leveraging industry collaboration and targeted partnerships to build a coordinated, science-based defense, the National Swine Health Strategy aims to help producers protect herd health by reducing the impact of domestic diseases and keeping foreign and emerging diseases from gaining a foothold.

The National Swine Health Strategy has multiple goals and priorities. PEDV elimination is an achievable place to start — and within reach.

PEDV doesn’t mutate as often as other pathogens, like PRRSV, and its clinical signs are straightforward with a short incubation period. With robust diagnostics already in place and PEDV cases steadily decreasing, now is the right time to capitalize on the momentum we’ve built to make progress towards eliminating it from the U.S. herd.

The Path to Elimination

Guidance from the producer-led Swine Health Advisory Committee outlined three tactics to jumpstart our work on PEDV elimination: Complete an economic study on PEDV elimination; engage with states interested in piloting regional elimination programs; and utilize U.S. SHIP PEDV certifications within to facilitate and standardize health status sharing.

These tactics build directly on the foundational work already established by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians PEDV Elimination Task Force. Earlier this year, NPB revised and updated this work.

Outlined in five stages, the work to eliminate PEDV is already well underway:

1. Stage 1 (2025-2027): Standardize health communication via the U.S. SHIP PEDV Health Status Certifications;
2. Stage 2 (2027-2030): Concentrate on reducing PEDV in finishing herds;
3. Stage 3 (2030-2032): Support regional coordination to declare localized regions PEDV-free, leveraging common touchpoints like feed mills or truck washes, through state pork associations;
4. Stage 4 (2032-2035): Support State Animal Health Officials and state pork associations in the coordination and declaration of free regions;
5. Stage 5 (2035): Achieve full national elimination via state and national collaboration.

Supporting researchers’ work and communicating slat-level solutions will help fill additional gaps in the elimination strategy.

Checkoff research to study manure management, including how long the virus remains infectious in lagoons and pits and transport sanitation, is already underway. NPB is also exploring tools to boost herd immunity prior to transport, alleviating the need for the intentional exposure of replacement gilts and informing future surveillance and elimination efforts.

A Resilient Future, Together

The industry is focused on herd health. But that doesn’t mean only working to reduce or eliminate domestic diseases like PEDV.

Building the infrastructure, using traceability systems like NPB’s AgView^® and building and engaging sampling networks required to eliminate PEDV help build the pathways needed to fight other health threats, too. In fact, everything we build in our fight against domestic diseases will help bolster our preparedness for emerging and foreign animal diseases.

But we can’t do it alone. Producer engagement is paramount. Visit porkcheckoff.org/strategy to see what’s next and to learn more.

Biography:
Dr. Marisa Rotolo joined the National Board as director of swine health in December 2023. Her work includes overseeing NPB’s Swine Disease Research Task Force and supporting programs such as Certified Swine Sample Collector Program, Secure Pork Supply and AgView^®. She is also involved in multiple industry-related working groups.

^[1]Parker, T.B., Meiklejohn, K.A., Machado, G., Rahe, M., Darrow, B.S., Ferreira, J.B. (2025). Evaluation of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus RNA contamination on swine industry transportation vehicles. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 237, 106447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106447