About PED

by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc./May 3, 2017

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a disease caused by PED virus (PEDV) that causes diarrhea and vomiting in pigs and piglets. While boars and sows typically recover from the virus in about a week, piglet mortality rates can reach 100%.¹ Currently, there is no cure for it – only strict strategies and processes that the industry has developed in an attempt to see the beginning of the end of PED.

PED occurs only in swine, as PEDV is an alpha coronavirus that only affects pigs. While clinical symptoms may be the same as transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus with acute diarrhea, laboratory testing should be the method to correctly diagnose PED.¹

Origin of PED

The PED virus was first discovered in England in 1971. Since then, global PEDV strains have been divided into two groups: the classical PEDV strains that first emerged in the 1970s and those after 2010. The latter emerging strains are divided further into the subgroups “non-S INDEL” and “S INDEL.” The first highly virulent outbreak of PED in the United States was confirmed in 2013, and caused by the S INDEL PEDV. From 2013 to 2014, PED killed approximately seven million piglets in the United States. In January 2017, PEDV was present in 39 states and Puerto Rico.¹

Since PED does not affect food safety and cannot be transmitted to humans, it is therefore not a trade-restricting disease. The incidence of PED in the United States has not had an impact on foreign export markets, to date.

Transmission issues

The PED virus transmission occurs via the fecal-oral route. When the virus is first introduced into a herd, acute outbreaks of diarrhea in recently born piglets may occur, and as much as 100% of these piglets may be affected. Diarrhea can last from seven to 14 days, and piglets younger than 8 days of age are susceptible to a high mortality rate (from 50 to 100% of infected piglets).¹ PED spreads more prevalently during cooler weather.

One of the characteristics of the PED virus is replication to very high levels within the animal. This is important because it directly leads to high levels of environmental contamination. During a PED outbreak, you can expect to find the virus in the barns, on equipment and even in the office. Therefore, strict biosecurity protocols are the best way to prevent the PED virus from entering a farm or from spreading on a farm.

For more information on PED prevalence and statistics, visit the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) website.

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References

¹ Saif L, Wang Q, Vlasova A, et al. Coronaviruses. In: Zimmerman JJ, Karriker LA, Ramirez A, et al.  Diseases of swine, 11th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp 488–523.Ch31" to "2019;488–523.