The Chair of Manitoba Pork says eradicating PED will be among the pork sector’s priorities in 2018.
During 2017 an outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea that struck in April resulted in 80 swine herds in southeastern Manitoba being infected.
In hopes of reducing the risk of PED transmission the pork sector has proposed the creation of a “Trusted Trucker” program to allow swine transport vehicles returning from the United States to be washed and disinfected at Canadian truck wash facilities.
George Matheson, the Chair of Manitoba Pork, explains the sector is determined to eradicate PED.
We’re working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to develop a Trusted Transport Program to get our trailers cleaned and baked at a very state of the art and exceptional facility at Blumenort, Manitoba which we feel would be of great assistance to keeping disease out of this province.
CFIA and Manitoba Pork Council have had quite a few meetings over the last six months in regard to this and are coming to agreement with what needs to be done. We want to keep it as simple and as straight forward as possible but also close off any loopholes where we think disease could slip through.
~ George Matheson, Manitoba Pork
Matheson says, although current regulations require swine transport vehicles to be cleaned before returning to Canada, studies of the wash stations used in the U.S. suggest they are inadequate and possibly a vector for transporting disease.
He says producers are in favor of biosecurity and feel the wash stations in Manitoba are superior to anything else that’s being used.
