Manitoba Pork Hosts Virtual Townhall To Address PED Outbreak

As of Tuesday, Manitoba Pork was reporting 21 cases of the PED virus in 2021.

Manager of Swine Health Programs Jenelle Hamblin says it's unusual to see an outbreak start this late in the year.

"It's something that we haven't seen before. It's new. Cases in Manitoba have typically started in the April-May-June timeframe is when we've seen cases start in previous outbreaks. We've seen cases in October before but they've typically been linked to other cases that had come on earlier. To start an outbreak at the end of October and lead here into December is definitely a new occurrence for us here in Manitoba and looking at these risk factors through a slightly different lens being that it's a different season, different environmental factors are at play."

The majority of the 21 cases are in the southeast part of the province.

Manitoba Pork held a virtual townhall Tuesday to update producers on the situation.

The organization is reminding producers to practice strong biosecurity.