Swine Virus Hits N.C. Farms

CHICAGOA swine virus, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), that's deadly to piglets was discovered on two hog farms in North Carolina, reported Reuters.

State and federal veterinarian diagnostic lab researchers confirmed the positive tests last week, Tom Ray, director of Livestock Health Programs for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services told Reuters. The virus was found on a sow farm, where piglets are born, and at a finishing farm where hogs are fattened up for slaughter.

Presence of the virus in North Carolina has U.S. investigators concerned about its reach and the difficulties involved in containing or eliminating it. This virus is particularly troubling for North Carolina because of the vulnerability of baby piglets and the state's heavy concentration of massive sow farms.

Although the virus is deadly to piglets, it does not pose any health risk to human or other animals and therefore poses no risk to food safety, according to the National Pork Board. Federal officials have said meat from PEDv-infected pigs is still safe to eat.

As of June 22, 2013, the virus had spread to 14 states, and at least 265 cases have tested positive, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Researchers say the genetic structure of the strain of the virus found at U.S. hog farms and slaughterhouses is 99.4% similar to the PEDv that hit China's herd last year and killed more than a million piglets, according to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal. Earlier this year China's largest meat processor entered a definitive agreement to buy Smithfield Foods Inc., for approximately $7.1 billion. Significant economic loss in the U.S. swine industry is possible due to the high morbidity and mortality rates that occur in piglets, according to a report by the USDA, however the effect cannot be estimated at this early stage. The report also states that pork products constitute the second largest segment of United States agriculture. In 2011, U.S. agriculture produced 110.9 million hogs and 22.8 billion pounds of pork.