Ontario PED prevention efforts focus on transportation movements

Thursday, February 13, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

As the number of cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus increases in Ontario, washing all livestock trucks/trailers may seem like a quick and easy fix to its spread. But several factors make that an impractical goal in Ontario, says one swine veterinarian, and, without any regulatory standards in place, that means producers must monitor whether the trucking protocols used are adequate for the animals they’re transporting.

There is considerable movement in the province’s pig population, which makes transportation one of the key critical control points to control the spread of PED, first confirmed on an Ontario farrow-to-finish operation in Middlesex County on Jan. 22.

According to Statistics Canada, nearly 3.2 million pigs of Ontario’s supply of 6.3 million pigs from Jan. 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013 were transported off farms. The majority, 78 per cent, was slaughtered in the province, while 17 per cent were shipped to other provinces or countries.

Marty Misener of South West Ontario Veterinary Services, says there are also other pigs on the move, including weaned pigs being trucked to nursery facilities, pigs moving to finishing barns from nursery facilities along with cull animals being trucked to the cull market and breeding stock moving from genetic suppliers into farms.

Misener says the whole industry is involved in ensuring the truck washing that’s needed to mitigate disease risks. Nevertheless, ultimately, “it’s definitely producer driven,” he says.

And knowing what steps need to be followed is complicated for producers because there is no “one size fits all” approach.

Misener explains that Ontario lacks enough infrastructure for transporters to wash all livestock trucks and trailers carrying pigs to the ideal standard needed to eliminate all PED transmission risks. Instead, risk mitigation decisions have to be based on the type of transport event.

For example, the gold standard, used when replacement gilts or young weaned pigs are transported, should include removing all organic material, such as manure, with a high volume pressure wash, disinfection and drying.

The minimum standard, used for animals going to slaughter, would also include removing organic matter, washing and applying disinfectant, but “primarily you’re worried about the inside of the trailer where you’re going to have foot traffic at pick up or delivery,” Misener says.

In cases where the originating facility is already confirmed to be PED-positive and the animals are destined for slaughter in the United States, “a scrape is actually adequate because the animals you’re loading on are already infected and shedding the virus,” he says.

As well, trucks that have been exposed to PED are being encouraged to use a Lucan wash facility, TE Smith Transport & Logistics Ltd., which has been designated to handle vehicles identified as higher risk, Misener says. Protocols and procedures are also in place at commercial transport wash facilities to handle high-risk trailers.

Cost is another a factor. The gold standard costs $750 to $800 per wash, and somehow those costs must “come out of the value of the pig.”

Washing is more difficult in winter and adds to costs. Frozen trucks, for example, must be parked in a heated bay to thaw, which sometimes takes as long as overnight, before they can be washed.  

Steve Laskowski, vice president of the Ontario Trucking Association says on Tuesday any company committed to moving livestock in Ontario needs to have a biosecurity policy in place “with regards to the cleanliness of their trailers.”

Although there are no regulations in place requiring transporters to do so, or even to clean trucks, Laskowski says reputable ones do. He also suggests the province needs to step in and educate the entire pork supply chain on the questions they need to ask of the industry’s transporters.

Some commercial truckers have invested $500,000 to $1 million on wash rack facilities for cleaning and disinfecting trailers to proper standards, while other companies use independent wash facilities or mobile wash services.

Biosecurity measures including trailer cleaning for livestock truckers were put in well before PED virus emerged in Ontario, he says. And because that infrastructure was already there, its costs would have already been built into the system. Producers, therefore, should not experience any surprises on their shipping bills in connection with PED mitigation efforts, but they do need to ask questions to determine if the protocols used suit the type of transportation event they’re considering, he says.

Meanwhile, the CFIA is working with the Canada Border Services Agency at Canadian entry points to “minimize the spread of PED virus in Canada,” says CFIA spokesperson Lisa Murphy by email.

Under the authority of the federal Health of Animals regulations, CFIA inspects trucks carrying swine at the border and the border services agency examines all empty trucks, including ones returning to Canada after transporting pigs to the United States and those entering Canada to pick up pigs for export. The border services agency is looking to ensure the trucks are “cleared properly,” Murphy says.

Trucks need to come back scraped but there is no requirement for them to be washed.

Misener notes washing all trucks returning from the United States before they reach the Canadian border might appear to be a blanket solution. He points out, however, that the majority of wash facilities available in the United States are communal and use recycled water. “Those recycled water bays are almost guaranteed to be contaminated with PED,” he says.

The PED virus causes vomiting and diarrhea in pigs. It doesn’t affect food safety and doesn’t pose a risk to human health or other animals besides pigs. The virus kills almost all nursing piglets that come into contact with it while older pigs can recover.

So far, 13 Ontario farms have confirmed cases. Positive samples were also found in January at an Ontario assembly yard, trucking yards and a processing plant. Ontario agriculture ministry sampling has also detected PED genetic material in swine feed.

Misener says an industry committee that’s working on how to allocate $2 million in provincial funding to help enhance biosecurity meets this week for a second time to determine how to spend it. The money will be used to identify critical control access points such as assembly yards, processors, farms and transportation, to implement testing at plants and assembly yards, and to communicate biosecurity practices to farmers. BF

UPDATE: Fri. Feb. 14, 2014

PED has now spread into eastern Ontario for the first time. OMAF has on its PED site a confirmed case on a farrow-to-finish farm in Leeds-Grenville. The confirmation date is Feb. 14. There's also another confirmed case for Feb. 14 and it is in Niagara. It's also a farrow-to-finish operation. There are now confirmed cases on 16 farms in Ontario.

A case has also been confirmed in Manitoba; another is suspected in Prince Edward Island. BF