Lessons Learned from Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus
A study funded by the National Pork Board is providing perspectives on the re-infection rate and performance impact of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV).
The goal of this study was to quantify the rate of sow herds rebreaking with PEDV and evaluate the impact on performance. The study used data from the Swine Health Monitoring Project (SHMP), through which veterinarians enroll sow farms and report weekly health status changes, including PEDV. Performance records were requested for herds that experienced a PEDV outbreak before July 1, 2014.
Investigators found that from May 1, 2013, through July 1, 2014, 474 out of 1,027 (46%) herds broke with PEDV. Of the 474 PEDV-infected herds, 429 herds were able to stabilize and wean PCR PEDV-negative pigs. The time to achieve negative pigs ranged from 7 to 64 weeks, with a median time of 28 weeks. However, they also found that after July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2016, a herd that had a previous PEDV outbreak was nearly three times more likely to re-break as herds that never had an outbreak.
Performance data from 190 herds were used to estimate the time required for a herd to recover to its pre-outbreak production level. The number of weaned pigs declined by a median of 2.7 pigs per inventoried sow.
For 183 herds, 10 weeks was the average time required to recover to baseline production. The negative impact was nearly twice as bad for herds infected in the third or fourth quarters of the year. Veterinarians can use this data to advise clients on PEDV impact and time to return to stable production.
