Pig virus spreads to Ontario

A virus that has killed millions of piglets in the U.S. has made its way to Ontario and now hog farmers here are being told to tighten bio-security to prevent it from spreading further.

Ontario Pork, a group that represents 16-hundred producers, says the virus does not affect food safety and is not a risk to human health. But what is at risk is the provinces’ pork industry.

It’s called Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea or PED. Most adult pigs recover from the highly contagious virus but it kills almost 100 percent of young, suckling pigs.

The University of Guelph’s Professor Bob Friendship is a specialized pig veterinarian. He says PED can be emotionally challenging for farmers: “In the first two or three weeks of life when they’re nursing their mothers, they dehydrate very quickly and it’s very hard to keep them alive. Seeing all your pigs sick and dying. It’s pretty hard to face that every morning and it will last for about a month on a farm.”

And financially devastating. Ontario Pork Chair Amy Cronin says her organization is asking farmers to heighten their bio-security: “We estimate that on 1,000 sows it would be about $150,000. To think about being sure that absolutely nothing will enter that farm without a thorough cleaning and disinfection including people.”

Thousands of pigs are imported and exported between Ontario and the U.S. each month. Because the virus is spread through fecal matter, Friendship says it most likely came into the province through livestock trucks.”

So far there are two confirmed cases of PED in Ontario. One near London, the other in Chatham-Kent, and a third possible case is being investigated. Friendship says while farmers can give their pigs electrolytes and fluids to keep from dehydrating, the virus is very difficult to treat: “For the most part, you have to let it run its course. It’s going to spread through and let the antibodies build up and the herd will become immune.”

And after thorough disinfection, the herd can once again become PED free.

Cronin and Friendship both say that it is safe to eat the meat from pigs who have recovered from the virus. It cannot be transferred to humans. Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government is giving the Ontario Pork industry two-million dollars to help contain the virus.