USDA announces effort to combat pork diarrhea including reporting requirement
June 05, 2014 | 06:03 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $26.2 million program to combat porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), but the reactions from the National Pork Producers Council and from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., were muted.
Speaking at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Vilsack announced that USDA has also issued a federal order requiring producers, veterinarians, and diagnostic laboratories to report all cases of PEDv and other new swine enteric coronavirus disease to its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or state animal officials.
USDA will also require herd management plans.
“These viruses do not pose any risk to human health or food safety, and they are commonly detected in countries around the world,” USDA noted in a news release.
Vilsack noted that PEDv has killed some 7 million piglets “and caused tremendous hardship for many American pork producers.”
“The number of market-ready hogs this summer could fall by more than 10 percent relative to 2013 because of PEDv,” he said.
“Together with industry and our state partners, the steps we will take through the federal order will strengthen the response to PEDv and these other viruses and help us lessen the impact to producers, which ultimately benefit the consumers who have seen store pork prices rise by almost 10 percent in the past year.”
The $26.2 million will be used for a variety of activities to support producers and combat these diseases, including:
The international animal health governing body, the OIE, believes that cases of PEDv and these other swine enteric coronavirus diseases shouldn’t be the basis for countries to restrict exports of pork and pork products from the United States, Vilsack noted.
NPPC did not comment on the reporting requirement, but noted that it and the National Pork Board have encouraged voluntary reporting.
“We’re hopeful the USDA plan will work,” said NPPC President Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa.
“We still need to see the fine details of the program, but if USDA can focus a lot of the plan on researching and testing this devastating disease and on helping producers enhance their biosecurity, that would go a long way to helping us know how to control and to prevent the virus.”
NPPC said the two pork organizations and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians met with Vilsack before his speech to NPPC members, asking USDA to:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a former chairwoman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, issued a news release.
“I applaud USDA for its critical, though long overdue actions,” DeLauro said.
“In the past year families have seen pork prices skyrocket and farmers have seen millions of pigs die. Yet no one can figure out the cause of this disease. The department in charge of protecting our nation's food supply should not have taken a year to act. But I hope with resources finally being put in to monitoring PEDv, we will at long last be able to track the cause of this virus and stop it in its tracks.”
▪ USDA — Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases (SECD), including Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv)
▪ Federal Order — Reporting, Herd Monitoring and Management of Novel Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases
▪ — Q&A
▪ — Herd Monitoring and Management Plan for Novel Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases
Speaking at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Vilsack announced that USDA has also issued a federal order requiring producers, veterinarians, and diagnostic laboratories to report all cases of PEDv and other new swine enteric coronavirus disease to its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or state animal officials.
USDA will also require herd management plans.
“These viruses do not pose any risk to human health or food safety, and they are commonly detected in countries around the world,” USDA noted in a news release.
Vilsack noted that PEDv has killed some 7 million piglets “and caused tremendous hardship for many American pork producers.”
“The number of market-ready hogs this summer could fall by more than 10 percent relative to 2013 because of PEDv,” he said.
“Together with industry and our state partners, the steps we will take through the federal order will strengthen the response to PEDv and these other viruses and help us lessen the impact to producers, which ultimately benefit the consumers who have seen store pork prices rise by almost 10 percent in the past year.”
The $26.2 million will be used for a variety of activities to support producers and combat these diseases, including:
- $3.9 million to be used by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to support the development of vaccines.
- $2.4 million to cooperative agreement funding for states to support management and control activities.
- $500,000 to herd veterinarians to help with development and monitoring of herd management plans and sample collection.
- $11.1 million in cost-share funding for producers of infected herds to support biosecurity practices.
- $2.4 million for diagnostic testing.
- $1.5 million to National Animal Health Laboratory Network diagnostic laboratories for genomic sequencing for newly positive herds spread of the disease, and enable continued movement of animals for production and processing.
The international animal health governing body, the OIE, believes that cases of PEDv and these other swine enteric coronavirus diseases shouldn’t be the basis for countries to restrict exports of pork and pork products from the United States, Vilsack noted.
NPPC did not comment on the reporting requirement, but noted that it and the National Pork Board have encouraged voluntary reporting.
“We’re hopeful the USDA plan will work,” said NPPC President Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa.
“We still need to see the fine details of the program, but if USDA can focus a lot of the plan on researching and testing this devastating disease and on helping producers enhance their biosecurity, that would go a long way to helping us know how to control and to prevent the virus.”
NPPC said the two pork organizations and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians met with Vilsack before his speech to NPPC members, asking USDA to:
- Investigate how PEDv entered the United States.
- Collaborate with the U.S. pork industry to fund and conduct research on the virus.
- Coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration, the Homeland Security Department and the pork industry to improve the biosecurity of feed and feed ingredients.
- Collaborate with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network to improve inter-laboratory communications and data sharing.
- Provide funding for diagnostic testing and viral genetic sequencing to gather information needed to control the disease.
- Provide funding to enhance agricultural biosecurity, including on farms, in packing and processing plants and at border entry points.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a former chairwoman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, issued a news release.
“I applaud USDA for its critical, though long overdue actions,” DeLauro said.
“In the past year families have seen pork prices skyrocket and farmers have seen millions of pigs die. Yet no one can figure out the cause of this disease. The department in charge of protecting our nation's food supply should not have taken a year to act. But I hope with resources finally being put in to monitoring PEDv, we will at long last be able to track the cause of this virus and stop it in its tracks.”
▪ USDA — Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases (SECD), including Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv)
▪ Federal Order — Reporting, Herd Monitoring and Management of Novel Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases
▪ — Q&A
▪ — Herd Monitoring and Management Plan for Novel Swine Enteric Coronavirus Diseases
