By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released more details about its reporting program for the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, also known as PEDv.
The program, which is being administered by the USDA’s Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), will take a number of measures to deal with PED. Measures include: mandatory reporting of the virus, creation of swine herd management plans, and improving biosecurity protocols that pork producers can implement to prevent the disease from infecting their herds.
In June, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a federal order making reporting of PEDv and other swine viruses mandatory. In addition to the order, he also announced $26.2 million to help combat the disease. The funds are earmarked for the following programs:
- USDA Agricultural Research Service will receive #3.9 million to develop vaccines
- U.S. states will be provided with $2.4 million which aims to support management and control activities
- Swine veterinarians will get $500,000 to aid with the development and monitoring of pig barn management plans and lab testing
- Pork producers who are dealing with infected herds will be eligible for funding to improve on-farm biosecurity protocols through a $11.1 million cost-share funding program
- Diagnostic testing will receive $2.4 million
- The National Animal Health Laboratory Network will be provided with $1.5 million for activities relating to genomic sequencing for herds that test positive for PEDv
Prior to Vilsack’s official announcement about mandatory PEDv reporting, the USDA said in April that it would explore implementing a new policy requiring mandatory reporting of PEDv cases. At the time the pork industry were unsure about how to implement the proposed rule, especially with the ramifications of reporting a positive case of the virus.