Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus - PEDV Spreads to include 6 States

On May 21, I posted a story on the PEDV in Iowa and Indiana.  It is a virus that affects pigs.  It is not a danger to humans.   An excerpt:

Swine veterinarians across the U.S. are collecting samples from pork farms that have reported possible cases and sending them in for testing at National Veterinary Service Laboratories and other sites.

Some veterinarians are also sending in samples of animal feed for testing, to see whether the virus was spread that way, said Dr. Keith Roehr, Colorado's state veterinarian.

"There's a lot of biosecurity and prevention measures in place that prevent the spread of disease. That's what's so puzzling in this case. To be in different states, and to have crossed between different swine operations and between different owners, all of which are painstakingly kept separate to prevent the spread of disease - that's unusual," said Roehr.

Some background on the PEDV virus, was posted here.  PEDV is known as a Coronavirus.  An excerpt:

This year, another swine enteric virus - Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) – of the Coronaviridae family has been found in the U.S.  The PEDV has been identified in other countries since 1971 and is neither regulated as a foreign animal disease nor listed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).  Furthermore, there are no zoonotic or food safety concerns with either virus.

Today, we have a report that the virus has now spread to 5 States:


THE VIRUS SPREADS
Confirmed cases have been reported in five hog-raising states including Iowa, the largest U.S. hog producer with 20 million hogs, according to the USDA. While only seven farms have had confirmed cases since May 17, more cases are expected as labs sift through samples, say sources investigating the outbreak.

Colorado, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota reportedly have positive tests for PEDV, according to state veterinarians and agriculture department officials, and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

Overall numbers of confirmed cases and mortality rates are not yet available, though anecdotal evidence suggests there are devastating losses for farms that are hit.
"If you've got it, it's bad," said Mark Greenwood, vice president of agri-business capital at AgStar Financial Services, who said none of his clients have been affected. "I spoke to a farmer in the Midwest who had it show up in a 2,000-head barn of pigs, and had a 40 percent death loss."

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