A PED virus outbreak at several sow farms in the Ukraine could lead to the deaths of 30 to 35 million pigs in Europe and have a major impact on global pig numbers says Worldwide consultant to the animal production industry, Dr. John Carr of England.
In an interview from London, England near the Heathrow Airport, after spending at least ten days in the Ukraine tending to the three farms with the PEDv outbreak, Dr. Carr says with the other things happening in the Ukraine, diseased pigs isn’t their highest priority right now.
“I’m still struggling to get it typed because the Ukraine doesn’t have the technology and obviously the people in the Ukraine have some slightly other issues to worry about,” he said. “Normally, I’d send my samples to Russia but they aren’t quite talking to me at the moment either, making this situation a bit awkward.”
From what Carr can see, and he’s dealt with PEDv outbreaks in different parts of the world for 20 years and spotted it as early 1972 on local farm growing up, the PEDv outbreak there is certainly China/American alike, but not like in Europe earlier.
“So it is a bit of a problem and I suspect this is the beginning of the European outbreak,” he says cautiously. “My estimation is this will kill 25 million to 35 million pigs over the next 18 months and it will not stop until it gets to Spain having a substantial impact on the European, but also on the Global pig numbers if Europe loses 30 million pigs over the next 18 months.”
When he talks to producers in the U.S., the PEDv outbreak there is much worse than officialdom is letting on. They’re trying to hide the big hole by trying to make the animals bigger where the meat output is not so severely damaged as the animal output.
“It isn’t a game I wouldn’t play but you must also think of your pig flow,” says the world livestock consultant. “If you are going to keep your pigs for two more weeks, you haven’t put two more buildings down.”
He questions whether the bio-security and efficiencies are as tight with the push for extra weight and how will those producers handle the all in and out, the batching, and the truck washing and cleaning?
“The three big farms I have in the Ukraine, two are under control, and the other one is getting under control,” said Carr. “This sow break in the Ukraine is certainly worse than I’ve ever experienced in Asia.”
Dr. Carr shares this next part because of the need for hog producers, support workers, and industry participants around the world tighten up bio-security, the best line of defence and encourage each other to do so too.
“I lost 10,000 pigs in four days, being a larger farm makes the problem so much bigger,” he says. “I can tell you, it is heart-breaking.”
Carr walked around looking at various pens, saying aloud so his two local vets could hear him, they are going to die, those will die, and so will those. When he finished his rounds, the local vet tells him that is over 10,000 pigs he said were going to die.
“The two vets argued with me and said no we’ll save them. Well, you’re better vets than I. The next morning these three and four-day old piglets were all dead. Next, those same vets euthanized the other pigs he asked them to do to try to create a firebreak.
“They said they’d never seen anything so sad. You have a three or four day old piglet just vomiting itself to death. Pretty horrible way of going,” he said.
“To be honest, it shocked me deeply after all my years of dealing with this, when it’s your pigs and your guys and I’m the one sitting there trying to stop it, I cannot do anything. I cried … nobody watching tears rolling asking please let me do something. It changes you a bit,” he said.
Again, Dr. Carr shares this making sure the next guy whether in Canada, the U.S., Ukraine, or Asia will clean the truck just a little more.
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— By Harry Siemens
