Yesterday, Alberta Pork hosted the eighth in a series of Telephone Town Halls on Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED). In addition to a comprehensive update on the disease both globally and locally from noted PED expert Dr. Egan Brockhoff, there were some fascinating discussions on the use of porcine plasma and the recent appearance of a PED vaccine in the United States.
While PED is not in the headlines as much these days, Dr. Brockhoff pointed out that the need for vigilance in biosecurity is as great as ever. There are still 100 cases a week being reported in the United States, and the positive feed sample in Alberta recently, while it was detected before it could reach a farm, indicates that PED did enter our province. As well, Dr, Brockhoff and other experts feel there is a real chance of an upswing in PED come the fall and winter.
For a complete recording or transcript of this telephone town hall, check the PED portal of the Alberta Pork website next week.
Source: Alberta Pork