Second Ontario PED case confirmed

Sunday, January 26, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has extended its reach into Ontario as provincial officials announced today another confirmed and a third suspected case, both in Chatham-Kent.

Greg Douglas, Ontario’s chief veterinarian, says the second confirmed case is in a finisher barn. The third suspected case is currently under investigation. Provincial agriculture ministry officials first learned there were clinical signs of the disease (vomiting and diarrhea) in the second farm’s young pigs on the weekend. “This was confirmed at the Animal Health Lab in Guelph as well on the weekend,” Douglas says.

Throughout the weekend, ministry officials did “significant sampling and surveillance associated with the first farm (a farrow-to-finish operation in Middlesex County) as well as the second farm and identified other areas of concern,” he says, adding the ministry is pursuing an active investigation. The ministry announced the first case of PED on an Ontario farm last week.

Douglas says ministry officials are “still under the impression that there are strategies in which we can work on to help mitigate and slow the spread of this virus in Ontario.” But the second confirmed case and third suspected case “certainly does change the situation and reality here in Ontario.”

PED is usually fatal for very young pigs, while older pigs show the clinical signs of vomiting and diarrhea but usually recover. Pork remains a safe choice for consumers to eat. PED is not a human health or food safety risk, Douglas says. PED has been circulating in the United States since last spring with 2,000 farms infected since then. It’s also present in other regions, such as Europe and China.

During a question period, Douglas says there isn’t a direct link between the Ontario farms with the PED cases and suspected case. “But there’s certainly an indirect link and we’re exploring that. The swine industry in Ontario is very much integrated.”

The investigation includes how the first case is “exposed and related to the second case,” he says.

Some of the avenues the ministry is looking into are that the disease is being spread by “mechanical” means, such as trucks and trailers, along with foot traffic. “Human beings are great vehicles to disseminate disease,” Douglas says.

Asked how the first Ontario farm contacted the PED virus, Douglas says “the web in Ontario is all linked. We are pursuing some lines of investigation.”

The virus is very contagious and infectious. “We are pursuing some things that really point in some strong directions,” he says but didn’t give any specific details about what those directions are.

Amy Cronin, Ontario Pork chair, says “we do anticipate that this will be tough on our industry. It’s all going to depend on where it goes from here. We’re putting in measures to try to manage the virus as best as we can and to keep it off as many farms as we can.”

If the virus were to spread throughout Canada, it could cost the industry $45 million within a year, she says.

Douglas says the first and second confirmed farms haven’t been placed under quarantine “because we have complete cooperation with the producers and their veterinarians and no concerns about pigs or animal products leaving the farms to transmit the virus in the Ontario industry.” But discussions with the producer on second farm are in the early stages.

If voluntary controls fail, the province will consider using regulated quarantines, he says. But he’s not concerned the first two farms will need to be quarantined.

As for the border between Canada and the United States, Harpreet Kochhar, Canada’s chief veterinarian, says the border hasn’t been closed to pig exports and imports between the two countries. “We are very vigilant about how the imports happen into Canada,” he notes.

Importers of swine for slaughter must supply certification on the animal’s health status that confirms they are free from any communicable diseases and incoming pigs can be quarantined for at least 30 days. If there were any sign of disease, it would show up at that time. In addition, officials with Canada Border Services Agency are working to assess returning vehicles that have transported pigs to the United States.

There aren’t many live pig imports into Canada with most of them being breeding stock. Kochhar says “we send a lot of hogs to the U.S. for slaughter.”

Douglas says the ministry continues to work with Ontario Pork, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and all parts of the industry on short and long term actions to stop the spread of PED. He encouraged all members of the pork industry to maintain strict “biosecurity protocols and contact your veterinarian immediately if you see animals showing clinical signs of illness.”

Ontario’s Animal Health Act makes it mandatory for veterinarians to immediately report any significant herd health changes to the agriculture ministry. The Act, and its regulations, enables the ministry to detect PED on farms even before the cases are confirmed at the lab, Douglas says. The ministry can then contact the farm’s vet and the farmer “to find out the full extent of the situation in terms of the farm specifics and the farm type and what their plan is so we can make sure we don’t spread the virus.”

According to Ontario Pork’s website, 1,549 pork farmers in Ontario marketed 4.9 million hogs in 2013, about 0.4 per cent more than in 2012. BF