Deadly pig virus surfaces in Canada
Posted Jan 24, 2014 7:34 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The country’s first case of a highly contagious, viral disease of pigs has been discovered on a farm in southwestern Ontario.
The farm near Listowel, 80 kilometres north of London has been quarantined.
The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus poises no risk to human health or the food supply, but is a death sentence for piglets.
Older pigs that contract PED will become sick, but usually survive.
Alberta’s Chief Provincial Veterinarian, Dr. Gerald Hauer told 660News, pork producers in our province have been told to ramp up biosecurity measures on their farms, which basically means to make sure things are properly cleaned and to inspect vehicles entering and leaving their property, because the virus could be contained in old pig manure.
If an animal gets sick to call a vet for a proper diagnosis.
The virus which was first detected back in May 2013 in the U.S., has since spread to more than 20 states, killing millions of piglets.
Some suggest consumers should expect to pay more to put pork on their fork in the not too distant future.
