The pork industry has confirmed the year’s second case of PED (porcine epidemic diarrhea) in a finisher barn in southeast Manitoba.
The case was confirmed Oct. 29.
The Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) said both the year’s first case — detected in a sow barn near Blumenort Oct. 25 — and the more recent case are under investigation by the province’s Chief Veterinary Office and MPC is working closely with the CVO.
Both cases were reported to producers through the Manitoba Coordinated Disease Response, an online information and resource portal launched in the wake of the province’s first brush with serious PED outbreaks in 2017.
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“At this time, no link has been established between the two cases,” a representative from MPC said.
Both farms have ramped up containment and biosecurity measures to avoid further spread, it added.
While not a food safety concern, PED is infamous for its mortality in young pigs, with piglet mortalities reported anywhere from 80 to 100 per cent due to the viral infection.
While the pork council has lamented the break in its streak without new infections, 2021 is still far from the crisis seen in previous years.
The announcement of a second case still leaves Manitoba with one of its lowest annual PED case counts since prior to the 78-case brushfire outbreak seen in 2017, followed by a record-breaking 82 cases two years later in 2019.
That included breakthrough cases in more northern and western areas where the disease had not previously been seen.
Both 2018 and 2020 saw new cases drop dramatically. Last year, pork producers saw only three cases, although two of those three were detected outside of the normal PED hot spot in southeastern Manitoba.
“It is not unexpected that we have cases during the high-risk time for PED,” MPC has said. “Manitoba’s record in 2021 remains very good.”
Both industry and veterinarians have previously noted a cyclical trend to PED infections year to year, with a PED surge often followed the following year with much lower levels.
Despite low levels this year, MPC is still urging pork producers to take a hard look at their biosecurity and to keep herd veterinarians in the loop on any biosecurity changes.
A printable infographic highlighting practices such as restricted traffic on farm, proper loading dock procedure and proper barn entry protocols has since been released for distribution by the council.
