Return to washing trailers in U.S. rekindles pig virus fears
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/04/2016 (3652 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The general manager of Manitoba Pork believes the federal government’s decision to revert back to what he said is an antiquated federal regulation will put the Canadian hog industry at risk.
Andrew Dickson said a change in protocol could lead to more incidence of disease in the Manitoba swine herd, specifically porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv).
“The entire industry would suffer if the disease came to Canada,” Dickson said.
PEDv is a swine disease that is extremely fatal in piglets. It has killed approximately eight million newborn pigs in the United States since it first appeared in 2013, according to a Manitoba Pork press release.
On May 1, federal regulations will resume a long-standing regulation that requires hog trailers be washed in the U.S. before crossing the border into Canada.
During the time when PEDv was spreading rapidly through hog barns in the U.S., officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suspended the regulation, replacing it with an emergency protocol that required hog transporters wash and disinfect their trailers at a certified Canadian facility.
Dickson said that decision effectively neutralized the disease in Manitoba, which hasn’t had a confirmed on-farm case of PEDv since January 2015.
“We would like to see that method of cleaning trailers continue,” Dickson said, adding that the industry is supportive of an extention to the protocol.
As of November 2015, all premises in Manitoba confirmed to have the disease are considered PEDv “presumptive negative,” according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. The designation means the virus has been eliminated through strict measures.
Dickson said the wash bays in the U.S., which are considered “high-traffic sites,” pose some of the greatest threats to ensuring Manitoba remains PEDv-negative.
“Those stations could be contaminated,” Dickson said.
Trailers who deliver directly to slaughter facilties in the U.S. are only required to be “scraped,” according to Dickson.
Several transporters have already told Manitoba Pork that they plan on washing their trucks twice, recognizing the impact the disease could have on the industry and that it’s safer to wash the trucks in Canada.
The emergency protocol was lifted originally on Oct. 1, 2015, by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, with the “informed compliance period” running out on May 1.
During that time, transporters were still able to get their trailers sealed at the border and washed at a facility in Canada.
“The CFIA has reviewed the situation and has concluded that the outbreak of PEDv in Canada no longer merits and emergency response,” CFIA stated in a release.
Officials from the federal department of Agriculture and Agri-Food will comment about the decision on Monday.
» ctweed@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @CharlesTweed