Canada: PEDV discovered in Alberta

A 400-head hog operation in Alberta has contracted the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus, a disease that causes diarrhea and vomiting in pigs. Alberta Pork is working closely with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry to fully investigate this outbreak and prevent the disease from spreading further.

The first case of PED in Canada was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in January 2014 on a swine farm in Ontario. Since then, PED has also been reported in Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

The virus is spread by the fecal-oral route, with the most common source being infected feces coming onto a farm with various surfaces that can transmit the virus.