Testing is underway in Canada for a vaccine to protect pigs from Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, or PEDv. While U.S. made vaccines are available in Canada, the vaccines are only recommended for use if there is an outbreak. The vaccine being tested in Canada is aimed at preventing the disease altogether, according to the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. The University’s prototype vaccine, first announced last year, recently moved into field testing. The PED virus is in the coronavirus group, which includes human diseases such as SARS and MERS, and produces mortality rates of up to 100 percent in infected herds of piglets. Over eight million pigs in North America have died from PED since the disease first appeared in the U.S. in 2013 and Canada in 2014.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.