Experts Discuss Recent Findings in PEDv Monitoring, Risk Factors and Immunology

US - With the recent increase in porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) cases reported this spring, the latest At The Meeting (ATM) with the Morrison Group audio program provides an update on developments in case reporting, effective control steps and immunology in the last year.
calendar icon 29 June 2015
clock icon 5 minute read

Released in June, the ATM program on PEDv features disease, research and practical swine health information from leading veterinary experts that swine veterinarians and producers can use to make informed decisions for their farms.

This latest ATM audio program is divided into three 15- to 20-minute segments with moderator Bob Morrison, DVM, PhD, discussing different PEDv-related topics.

In part one of the three-part audio program, Dr Morrison talks with Gordon Spronk, DVM, Pipestone Veterinary Clinic, and Tom Wetzell, DVM, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), about ongoing swine health monitoring and case reporting programs in place for PEDv. This segment also provides insights that can be gained by looking at recent and historical PEDv case data and the impact the disease has had on production.

“Looking at a sample of nearly 2.3 million sows and 950 individual farms as part of the monitoring program, we evaluated time to stability and time to baseline production,” Dr Morrison says.

“While not as devastating to farms as the initial PEDv infections two years ago, recent breaks are averaging 28 weeks to stability on 50 per cent of the farms surveyed (ranged from 7 to 64 weeks) and 76 per cent of farms got back to 100 per cent baseline production in 21 weeks.”

Morrison notes the national incidence of PEDv has increased from 3 per cent to nearly 8 per cent in the last several months. BIVI’s Tom Wetzell adds: “Continual monitoring, use of herd closure and other protocols, as well as use of tools such as PED ReSOURCE, a five-step disease management program, can help producers better manage PEDv.”

Part one of this ATM program on swine health monitoring for PEDv can be accessed here.

In the second segment of the ATM series update on PEDv, Jeremy Pittman, DVM, MSDABVP, Murphy Brown, joins the group to discuss the recent rebreaks of PEDv. He says most of the breaks are likely due to virus circulating in grow-finish barns, resulting in less mortality than initial outbreaks from 2013-14.

“Looking at 85 farms we surveyed this spring in our high density five-county production area, we identified several common risk factors for the ones that broke with PEDv,” Mr Pittman says.

“This included evaluating such things as type of farrowing barns, day one pig care protocol, type of pig flow, use of recycled waste water, amount of foot traffic and other factors that could impact the risk of PEDv breaks.”

Mr Pittman’s farm survey showed that using an all-in, all-out system, not using recycled water, reducing foot traffic and the number of weaning days per week, in addition to utilizing 90-day health assessments, were all beneficial in reducing PEDv. This ATM segment on the recent PEDv experiences can be accessed here.

In the third segment of the PEDv update ATM program, the panel of swine veterinarians, including Linda Saif, PhD, The Ohio State University, discuss what’s been learned regarding potential for protective immunity to be transferred from sow to pig, type of immunity provided and insights into the pig’s immune response to PEDv exposure. The group also discusses duration of immunity, types of vaccines and different administration routes that might be more effective in immunizing sows and pigs against PEDv.

“We know that establishing some level of immunity, either through feed-back or vaccines, can provide some protection from the virus, especially in pigs, which are more susceptible,” Ms Saif says.

“In sows, we need to boost their immunity, probably several times a year, in order for them to have adequate titer levels and to convey some protection through their milk to the pigs.”

More discussion from the experts on recent developments that improve our understanding of PEDv immunity in sows and pigs can be accessed in the third ATM segment on PEDv, found here.

This free educational audio program is sponsored by BIVI as a service to the swine industry and is ideal for veterinarians and producers to listen to while driving or working around the farm. It is available on CD, which can be ordered from the BIVI website or can easily be downloaded from SwineCast.

Previous At the Meeting programs on timely disease management topics also are available on the swine industry website at SwineCast.com.

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