Assay to help identify PED-infected pigs

A new assay can determine which pigs have been infected with a virus that has killed thousands of pigs since the pathogen was identified in the U.S. this year.

 

And a pork industry organization indicated extra caution is needed in the fall to avoid spreading the virus through contaminated manure.

 

Officials with Iowa State University announced in September that the university’s researchers had developed an indirect fluorescent antibody assay to detect serum antibodies against the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in pigs. Assay results can determine whether a pig has been infected with the virus in the past, helping veterinarians and their clients understand whether mixing particular groups of pigs could pose a disease risk, the announcement states.

 

The ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is providing information on the test and the PED virus here.  

 

The National Pork Board also announced that it was advocating for caution to prevent spread of the PED virus and providing guidelines for manure handlers here. The announcement indicated fall is a critical time to prevent spread of the virus, as it is when manure transporters travel between farms and manure is distributed on fields.

 

Porcine epidemic diarrhea had been prevalent among pigs in Asia and has been connected with sporadic outbreaks in Europe but was not found in the U.S. prior to this spring. Outbreaks cause high mortality among piglets.

 

Information distributed in early September by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians indicates veterinary diagnostic laboratories had received samples positive for the virus from farms in 17 states: Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.