As of magazine press time:

Over the past month nine swine operations in southeastern Manitoba have been confirmed infected by Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea including six within a five kilometer area and three outside the original five kilometer buffer zone, two of which are linked to that zone by pig movements.

PED Virus Case No. 15 Found in Manitoba Sow Barn

On May 18, 2017, Dr. Megan Bergman, Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) confirmed positive test results for PEDv from another sow operation in southeast Manitoba. This farm is within the same area as the four previously confirmed positive farms confirmed PED positive in May. Manitoba Agriculture’s Emergency Operation Centre is continuing to operate, and is assisting the affected producer and conducting a full disease investigation. All veterinarians with clients within the area have been made aware of the site’s location.

In response to a series of PED outbreaks in Manitoba, swine health officials are encouraging minimal animal movement and limited contact with swine operations in the affected area.

Since April 30, five Manitoba swine herds within close proximity of one another are confirmed infected by PEDv. Mark Fynn, the Manager of Quality Assurance and Animal Care Programs with Manitoba Pork, said the first step in dealing with an outbreak is to halt animal movements to and from the infected site and to heighten biosecurity.

“With the number of cases that have popped up, we’re trying to talk about total regional biosecurity,” said Fynn. “We really want to be able to restrict the amount of movement that’s happening, even within the area. We talk to service providers that are going through there, so that includes people who are doing garbage pickup, the feed guys, Manitoba Hydro, if they have inspectors out on the site or in that area and that sort of thing. We want to make sure they don’t go on those sites. That’s one thing but also, if there’s any contamination around the site as well, we don’t want to see lots of traffic within the region.”

Manitoba Pork really encourages everyone within the zone to sort of enhance their biosecurity, double check their biosecurity already in place, and they’re in full compliance with that every time, every person, every step and every movement.

“Guys have to treat their yards like they’re all dirty and we really have to stop this thing coming through the barn door and that’s it, making sure we have full compliance at the barn door.

PEDv Case No. 14 Found in Manitoba Finisher Barn

On May 16, 2017, Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), Dr. Megan Bergman confirmed positive test results for PEDv from another finisher operation in southeast Manitoba. This farm is within five km of the three infected farms that the industry confirmed PED positive on May 2, 6 and 8, respectively.

Manitoba Agriculture’s Emergency Operation Centre is continuing to operate and is assisting the affected producer and conducting a full disease investigation.

Bio-containment measures have been implemented at the site and plans for animal care and cleaning are underway. Producers within a five km radius of the infected site and contacts with the infected site are being contacted to monitor their herds and collect samples for testing. All veterinarians with clients within the five km area are aware of the site’s location.

According to a statement by Manitoba Pork, the four affected producers during this outbreak have made communication possible by signing this Sharing of Information Waiver. “We encourage all producers to sign this waiver and provide it to their herd veterinarian and Manitoba Pork ahead of a disease outbreak,” said MPC. “This enables quick sharing of information to prevent further spread, as well as more comprehensive support to the affected producer.” Farms within 5-km area should restrict yard traffic. In light of this fourth case farm within a five km area, Manitoba Pork is encouraging producers within the area to restrict vehicles (staff and service providers) from entering their yards. Signage or temporary barriers should be erected to ensure compliance. In addition said Manitoba Pork to routine biosecurity practices, producers within the area should park all staff vehicles at the end of the driveway and wear dedicated footwear or plastic booties in the yard.

“Only allow essential service providers to visit the site, and insist they park at the end of the driveway and wear booties in the yard. Push all garbage and dead stock pick-ups to the end of the driveway (if not already in effect) and away from where barn personnel and visitors will park. Consider liming the driveways between the parking area and the barn – enough space to ensure all livestock and feed trucks entering the yard will get at least a full tire rotation worth of coverage.” Service providers are encouraged to:

*Contact the barn manager or personnel prior to visiting the site even if you will not be entering the barn.

*Schedule visits within the area last thing of the week, if possible, or at least last thing of the day, followed by a cleaning and disinfection procedure.

*If necessary to visit a site, park at the end of the driveway, put on plastic booties when exiting the vehicle, and remove the booties when returning to the vehicle.

*Minimize the amount of site contact to the essential service areas, only getting out of your vehicle when necessary.

“Please discuss these recommendations with your herd veterinarian to implement the best biosecurity plan for your farm,” said MPC. Check out Manitoba Pork’s PEDv webpages. For any biosecurity and animal care issues, contact Mark Fynn, Manager of Quality Assurance and Animal Care Programs at Manitoba Pork, at 204.235.2302 or mfynn@manitobapork.com.

Dr. Bergman is calling for heightened biosecurity in the wake of Manitoba’s latest case of PEDv. The Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer said efforts are underway to identify the source of the infection, they’ve taken action to contain the infection and suggests with good surveillance and strong biosecurity practices, the risk of transmission should be quite limited.

“The infected farms have all implemented what we call bio-containment, which means that they’re very cautious about any potential transmission of the virus outside the barn,” said Dr. Bergman. “So they’re making sure they’re implementing very good biosecurity practices both on entry but also when they’re exiting the barn so that they’re not bringing the virus out with them. We’ve also asked that any farms in the area enhance their biosecurity practices as much as possible.” She said biosecurity is the industry’s best friend regardless of time of year.

“I think we need to continue to remember that in Manitoba we have significant contact with the United States where this virus is quite prevalent,” said Dr. Bergman. “We also have some high traffic sites that are positive for the virus so we can never let down our guard with respect to our biosecurity to prevent introduction of this virus onto our farms.”

If you’re heading to a high traffic site, being very conscious about ensuring you’ve implemented really good biosecurity before you go back to your farm so that you’re not bringing anything back with you.

Dr. Bergman said prior to the most recent confirmations, nine of the previously positive ten premises have achieved presumed negative status which means they had completed their cleaning and disinfection and all pigs and pig contact surfaces within the barns were negative. •

— By Harry Siemens

Prairie Hog Country wants to keep the producers informed the best we can with PEDv. However, the most current updates are available online at Manitoba provincial website gov.mb.ca under subheading Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) Virus