New Virus Infects Hogs Across Midwest

By Harvest Public Media
Published on July 10, 2013
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Photo by Fotolia/Janecat

Reposted with permission from Harvest Public Media.

Hog farmers across the Midwest are battling a new pig disease this summer. It’s often fatal in very young piglets and researchers are still trying to explain the outbreak.

Since mid-May when Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) was first identified in this country, it has spread quickly, turning up in at least 15 states. So far, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and Illinois have all had hogs test positive for the virus.

Over 218 pigs have been diagnosed so far. But Lisa Becton, a veterinarian with the National Pork Board, says it’s not a new disease worldwide.

“This virus was identified back in the 1970s in Europe, in the UK, and then it has been most recently identified in Asia, including China, Japan, Thailand,” Becton said.

How it came to this country is one of the questions researchers are trying to unravel.

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