With Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) continuing to threaten worldwide pork production, DuPont Disinfectants has announced that the company can now offer pig producers a proven disinfectant for PEDV –Virkon S. [Source: Pig Progress – Sep 4, 2014].
Having been independently tested for "Virucidal Efficacy of a Disinfectant for Use on Inanimate Environmental Surfaces against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV)" the Virkon S testing protocol was performed under strict test criteria established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"We know from the new testing that Virkon S is proven to be effective against PEDV at a dilution rate of 1:600, in the presence of high organic content (5%) and at low temperatures (down to 5˚C) reflecting its well established performance and suitability for real world ‘on farm’ conditions,” explains Mark Squire, DuPont Disinfectants Chief Chemist.
In the USA where PEDV has caused serious losses to the national herd, Dr Doug MacDougald, a leading pig veterinarian, has worked with Sunterra Farms in NW Iowa, an area of high challenge, to significantly reduce PEDV levels through effective biosecurity measures.
Finishing about 350,000 pigs per annum, Sunterra Farms had been challenged by PEDV since May 2013. However with the introduction of good external biosecurity, only 22 of 175 nursery and finisher sites have been infected up to July 2014, plus a further 13 caused by positive nursery pig movements.
Significantly, Dr MacDougald and the Sunterra Farms team have shown that PEDV elimination from infected nursery and finisher sites can be achieved. The 35 infected farms were subjected to a thorough cleaning and disinfection program and after restocking with PEDV-negative pigs, only 6% of the clean-ups failed.