Brazil Halts U.S. Live Pigs, Genetics over PEDv Concerns

Brazil’s pork industry successfully lobbied its government to put a temporary ban on imports of live breeding pigs, genetics and plasma from the United States.

The request was made after the Brazilian pork industry decided that the U.S. posed too high of a risk of infecting its pig herds with the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv).

Cases of the pig virus have been growing rapidly in the U.S. since last May. Earlier this year the virus spread to Canada, where they are now dealing with the highly contagious pig illness in three provinces.

Officials in Brazil say that a ban has been put in place as a preventive measure. The ban is expected to only be temporary.

Brazil is in the midst of developing biosecurity plans in the event that the virus arrives in that country.