Water-Based Swine Transport Trailer Cleaning and Disinfection Most Effective in Inactivating PED

May 12, 2025

An Iowa State University study shows water-based cleaning and disinfection of swine transport trailers is the most effective approach to reduce the level of PED contamination and inactivate the virus. Using a model to simulate the environment between a loadout and a contaminated trailer Iowa State University, with funding provided through the Swine Health Information Center Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, compared an untreated positive control, an untreated negative control and three cleaning strategies, a dry scrape and bake followed by heat treatment, a volume hose flush out followed by disinfectant and a power wash followed by disinfectant.

SHIC Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says, while both the volume hose and the power wash and disinfect reduced viral contamination by over 99 percent and completely inactivated the virus, the scrape and bake did reduce the viral load but did not inactivate the virus.

Quote-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:

We know that livestock trailers used for transporting pigs can play a major role in in PEDv epidemiology or spread if those livestock trailers are not adequately cleaned and disinfected. So, we want to look at how this study really underscores the importance of thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols in enhancing biosecurity across those swine production systems, in particular after those trailers have been utilized to deliver hogs at a terminal point of concentration or a slaughterhouse, looking at how do we clean and disinfect those trailers prior to re-entry onto a farm.

That becomes very important because of the ability for those contaminated trailers to introduce PEDv back onto the farm.So, it's important to think about cost effective cleaning and disinfection of market haul trailers that are coming back on farm.

Dr. Niederwerder says the study highlights the fact that water-based trailer cleaning treatments were the most effective while the waterless decontamination was infective in inactivating PEDv.The full report can be found at swinehealth.org.

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