The manager of swine health programs with Manitoba Pork, Jenelle Hamblin, credits a dramatic reduction in the number of cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea to enhanced biosecurity.
Since 2014, when PED raised its ugly head and was first identified in Manitoba, annual numbers of cases varied, peaking at 82 last year before falling to three so far this year.
Hamblin said PED is a coronavirus that affects the gastrointestinal tract of pigs of all ages. The most significant impact is on the young pigs or piglets as it causes severe dehydration. Adult pigs will recover from the virus, though it is important to note that they will continue to shed the virus periodically, whether under stress or sometimes not, leading to further breakouts if placed with other naive animals.
The disease causes substantial economic losses, from loss of production in adult animals, through reduced growth in the nursery and finisher pigs, and in breed back sows, who have gone through PED don’t breed back as well, which has a cost. There are often significant losses in young animals or piglets between seven and ten days of age. The extra costs that come with the biocontainment should the farm break with PED, and then the cleanup costs that come afterwards are relatively high. MPC commissioned MNP to estimate PED’s cost, an average farrow to finish farm in Manitoba is around $468 a sow. So, not small costs at all.
Hamblin said many factors helped reduce the incidents, primarily heightened biosecurity. The industry continued to learn and to enhance biosecurity. A risk factor from 2017 and again in 2019 is on-farm biosecurity breaches. So analyzing farm-level biosecurity and tightening up wherever possible throughout the sector.
“We’ve increased biosecurity in our transport sector, organized and planned manure applications considered a risk. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention anything about the reduced people movement this spring,” said Hamblin. “In 2020, when COVID hit back in March, we saw a lot less traffic in general, not only on-farm traffic but people traffic.”
She said the jury may still be out about how much that reduction in people’s movement made a difference. She isn’t sure if they ever will quantify that, but certainly, it’s something tossed around as a potential contributing factor.
Hamblin said that implementing dust control on many farms, especially in 2019, was good, but more for the spring. Putting down a dust control product in the controlled access zone and on the farm lane coming up to the farm keeps those dust levels and particles down, where the wind could blow the virus around or in.
Hamblin said the most potent message is how everyone treats and acts at the farm level, premises level biosecurity, and interacts when stepping onto that controlled access zone and coming into the barn.
Hamblin said that dropping the number of cases in 2020 significantly compared to 2019 does a massive number of reducing the province’s viral load.
“But I wouldn’t want anybody to let down their guard when it comes to the spring, especially with this pattern the past of even and odd years, where our odd years seem to be where we get larger outbreaks,” she said. “I’m optimistic that with a lower case number this year, the heightened measures throughout the sector, that we can limit the numbers we see throughout the winter and then into 2021.”
When considering the different risks from now on, Hamblin said people movement is a big one, whether it’s staff, service providers, or visitors and all of their things coming onto the farm, how do they interact once they get there?
“We want those protocols to remain very strong and practiced daily to keep any unwanted pathogens out,” she said. “It starts at the farm level during transport and making sure our transport biosecurity is strong. We’ve put in excellent enhanced measures to address some of that risk. I know that our producers and our transport sector are doing a fantastic job.” •
— By Harry Siemens