August 15, 2014
 

US researchers show PEDv can be transmitted through livestock feed

US researchers have shown for the first time that livestock feed can carry PEDv, the study's lead author said, confirming suspicions among farmers and veterinarians, Reuters reports.

The findings, published this August in the BMC Veterinary Research journal, bring increased attention on the feed industry in the battle against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDv).

In the study, researchers collected feed residue from three farms in Iowa and Minnesota that had outbreaks of PEDv and had received feed from the same source. They fed it to five piglets in an experiment at South Dakota State University, and all became infected with the virus. Piglets that were not fed the infected feed did not get sick.

However, the study did not determine how the feed became infected with PEDv. It is possible that ingredients in the feed, such as corn or soybeans, were contaminated with the virus. The feed also could have been contaminated in other ways, such as during transportation. It did not contain pig blood products used in feed that are suspected by some of transmitting the disease.