Manitoba Pork is encouraging pork producers to step up biosecurity and maintain close communications with their service providers to contain the latest outbreak of PED.
Fifty cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea have been confirmed so far in Manitoba in 2019, similar to numbers reported in 2017, but far above the 15 cases reported in 2018.
Jenelle Hamblin, the Manager of Swine Health Programs with Manitoba Pork, says comparing 2017 to 2019 the total number this year peaked about two weeks earlier.
A large effort is being taken in thorough disease tracebacks with Manitoba Agriculture, us at MPC and the herd veterinarians working with their producers to identify linkages and possible sources of infection to get a better handle on risk factors. On the farm enhanced biosecurity and awareness of disease pressure in the area is very important. The sector as a whole has a role to play.
Biosecurity efforts in these areas have been heightened at the farm level. Producers, barns managers, veterinarians, us here at MPC have been working with producers on biosecurity, but also biosecurity for service providers and transport agencies, feed deliveries, working with all sector stakeholders to get a better sense of what biosecurity efforts need to be done on farm. Producers definitely need to remain diligent and talk to every person that comes on to their farm about what biosecurity is required when they do that visit.
This is definitely not a one person job, everybody that is involved in on farm servicing, on farm work and the herd veterinarians. Again Manitoba Agriculture and us at MPC have been providing assistance as well so it certainly is a team effort.
~ Jenelle Hamblin, Manitoba Pork
Hamblin says the majority of cases remain in southeastern Manitoba but we are now seeing cases in other parts of the province.
