An investigation into the source of the infection is ongoing, Manitoba Pork says
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Last month, Manitoba officials reported the province’s first cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) of the year.
Manitoba Pork received confirmation on June 5 that two positive cases of the virus existed in nursery barns. One case was in southeastern Manitoba, while the other was in the eastern part of the province.
An investigation into the possible source of the infection is ongoing, said Jenelle Hamblin, manager of swine health programs with Manitoba Pork.
“There has been thorough traceback investigations as it relates to PED on these farms,” she told Farms.com. “There’s been traceback efforts in animal movements, people movements and service providers. Unfortunately, to date, there hasn’t been a definitive source identified.”
Since the initial reports of the first cases, one additional confirmed case of PED was discovered at a finisher operation.
The third is directly linked to the previous two as a result of animal movement. Seeing another case pop up didn’t come as a surprise, Hamblin said.
“We anticipated this to occur,” she said. “It was managed very well by the farm and extra protocols” were followed.
The confirmation of PED in 2020 cases is a reminder of the need to continue practicing biosecurity and risk mitigation.
In contrast, however, by June 5, 2019, 21 Manitoba farms had cases of the disease.
So, the swine sector needs to continue its hard work to ensure more cases and outbreaks are avoided, Hamblin said.
“We’ve battled back and forth with PED in Manitoba, and 2020 has shown that biosecurity has paid off,” she said. “Keep up the good work. Remain diligent and ask questions. The more we learn from one another, the more information we can share.
“Our manure applicators need a special shout-out for the work they do when handling manure from a previously PED-infected barn. It’s a job that needs to be done and they’ve taken the extra steps necessary to ensure everything is being done with biosecurity in mind.”