How many recent PED positive sites have been reported?
Between December 1st, 2019 and March 25th, 2020 there have been 18 new sites with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) reported in Ontario. In all cases containment and elimination measures have been implemented.
Where have the recent PED positive sites been located?
Below is a map of the relative locations of the 18 most recent reported PED positive sites; 7 within Middlesex Country, 4 within Perth County, 4 within Lambton County and 1 within each of Haldimand, Huron and Oxford Counties.
What type of production systems are going PED positive?
Thirteen of the most recent PED positive sites have been found in grow/finishing barns. There have been 3 PED positive sites in sow barns and 2 PED positive sites in a farrow-to-finish. One of the recorded finishing barns has already refilled and is waiting for confirmatory negative testing.
How is PED entering barns?
Most of the new PED positive sites have a connection to an assembly point and a truck wash. PED takes every opportunity to infect your herd. To reduce the risk of spread, special care needs to be taken to ensure thorough washing. Inspection to verify the complete removal of organic material, disinfection and lastly a complete dry are required. Many producers have acknowledged that shared labour between barns could be the source of spread in some situations.
What can you do to protect your barns?
Biosecurity is crucial to reducing the spread of disease. This is a good opportunity for producers to review transport and barn biosecurity practices with all those who are connected to your farms. Specifically, producers and industry can do the following things to reduce the spread and chance of infection:
- Talk to your veterinarian to review and/or adjust your biosecurity protocols.
- Review with your staff and suppliers the importance of biosecurity, especially if labour is shared between barns and suppliers are visiting multiple locations.
- Ensure all trucks that touch farms are washed, disinfected and dried.
- Minimize the need to pick up market hogs from multiple locations, whenever possible.
- For on-farm transport and truck wash facilities, review your biosecurity protocols with your veterinarian.
- Manure management is important and biosecurity protocols should be reviewed. It is important to assume that all roads and areas outside your barn are contaminated, especially during manure spreading season and planting season.
- Review the importance of monitoring for clinical signs with your staff.
Biosecurity resources can be found online at: