A deadly virus that has already decimated the U.S. pig population is expected to see a major surge after the summer months.
Veterinarians are warning that the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus will skyrocket during the fall with a potential 2.5 million pigs likely to die in the next 12 months. The USDA has been downplaying the virus, with USDA secretary Tom Vilsack claiming the U.S. is “on the other side” of the disease of a vaccine available to farmers.
However, vets on the ground and dealing with the problem say that the prevalence of the virus could overcome any immunity developed within a herd. Even the maker of the vaccine, Harrisvaccines of Iowa, said they do not know the vaccine’s effectiveness when the weather begins to turn cold.
The virus has already killed 10 percent of the U.S. pig population and pork prices have risen to an all-time high. An economist for the USDA said the records will continue to be set and it’s likely prices will jump at least another 50 cents a pound by the end of the year.
A further outbreak of PEDv would cause an even more significant increase.
Complicating the problem for American hog farmers is that China, Russia and Japan have restricted the import of pigs because of the viral outbreak.
In a blow to efforts to stop a deadly virus that has wiped out 10 percent of the U.S. hog population, an Indiana farm has confirmed being re-infected with PEDv.
PEDv, or Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, has killed 7 million pigs and driven pork prices to record highs since first being found in the United States a year ago. The disease is almost always fatal to baby piglets.
Matt Ackerman, a veterinarian in southeastern Indiana confirmed the re-infection but declined to name the farm. The confirmation is a blow to containment efforts because federal and state officials had been working from the assumption when a pig was infected it would develop an immunity for a number of years.
Rumors had been spreading that the assumption was faulty and up to 30 percent of farms were seeing second outbreaks but the Indiana case is the first one officially confirmed by government officials. The virus was also confirmed to be the same exact strain of the virus as the previous infection.
The virus is known to spread through pig manure and can transmit from farm to farm on trucks. Veterinarians are now examining if the virus can spread through animal feed.
The outbreak is likely to cause even more reduction in the U.S. hog population and further drive up pork prices.
A virus fatal to pigs is running rampant in the U.S. pig population is causing massive deaths and driving up the prices of pork to record levels.
The PEDv virus has wiped out the entire piglet populations of farms throughout the country. Agriculture officials in Oklahoma reported that one farm lost over 30,000 piglets from a PEDv outbreak.
Scientists say they have been unable to determine the origin of the outbreak.
The USDA reports that 7 million pigs nationwide have died from the virus. The outbreak began in Ohio according to the USDA and is now reported in at least 30 states. The nation’s hog herd has fallen to 63 million nationwide.
The virus is very virulent. One researcher said that one tablespoon of virus infected manure would be enough to infect the entire U.S. pig population.