null

Swine Biosecurity and PEDv

Posted by Angie Gentry on 5th Mar 2014

Last week at National Swine Registry's Southwest Type Conference in Belton, Tex., the talk among show attendees centered heavily around Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus and what it means to pig producers. The most popular question directed to JRG at the show was, "What do you have to help keep my farm safe?" We wish it were as simple as a vaccine or magic pill but the best advice we can offer is to follow a common-sense biosecurity program. While having a plan in place to prevent PED from reaching your farm is a smart move for every pig owner, it's important to remember that extreme paranoia would bring the industry to a standstill.

At an Iowa Pork Congress seminar in January one of the presenters said the best way to visualize a good biosecurity program is to draw an imaginary "clean/dirty" line. This is very useful when thinking about employees or new animals entering a barn. Employees should shower in and out and no clothing worn outside the barn should be worn across that "clean" line. Make sure to limit the number of visitors to the property and have them follow this clean vs. dirty procedure as much as possible. One of the most economic and simplest things you can do is have a package of disposable boots on hand for visitors to the farm and employees. Many farms are also posting signs at the end of the drive asking delivery trucks to stop on the road with packages and requiring that all visitors sign in.

Animals arriving at the facility should be isolated before joining the herd on the "clean" side of the line. Many show pig producers at last week's event planned to quarantine pigs coming back from the show for several days and watching for any signs of illness before returning them to their previous pens. 

It is important to disinfect all trucks and trailers that have had contact with pig feces. Some popular products for this have been the Tektrol aerosol, which is easy to spray on tires, boots, etc. and Synergize disinfectant. Synergize has literature backing its claims that it can kill PED virus; however, it does require 45 minutes of surface contact to do its job. During that 45 minutes it's important that the solution stay liquid and not freeze because PED virus remains viable after freezing and thawing. To keep your disinfectant from freezing you can mix it with windshield wiper fluid (smaller quantities) or propylene glycol (washing trailers, etc.).  

So if you follow these biosecurity protocols will that guarantee your barns stay PED free? Unfortunately, this virus is highly transmissable so there are no guarantees. But what can it hurt? Keeping biosecurity at the front of your mind is never a bad idea, especially now.