April 22, 2014

US pork producers to report hog viral diseases' outbreak

US hog farmers are required to report outbreaks of a viral disease that has spread across the country and killed thousands of pigs in the past year, according to USDA.

Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus or PEDv, has not previously been considered a "reportable" disease in part because it doesn't pose a food safety or human health threat.

Iowa State University veterinarian Rodney Baker says the reporting requirement may be too little too late. Baker says it's not yet clear whether the department will take further action. And, he says, scientists still don't understand all the ways the virus can spread. But he says the reporting requirement may improve the accuracy of loss estimates, which until now relied on voluntary reporting.

The USDA now requires mandatory reporting for two strains of PEDv and the swine delta coronavirus, which are all believed to have come from Asia. Baker says required reporting does increase the paper trail as hogs are moved throughout the country and could lead to a more accurate number of losses from the diseases.

Baker says US pork producers earn 20-25% of their income from the export market. Since PEDv and delta coronavirus don't threaten the food supply, Baker thinks USDA may have been reluctant to require reporting. For now, the reporting change doesn't call for restrictions on movement or trade.