Effectiveness of Manitoba’s PED Elimination Plan Demonstrated

The Director of Swine Health with Manitoba Pork suggests a Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea break just over one month ago has demonstrated the effectiveness of Manitoba's PED elimination plan. Manitoba's first and only case of PED in 2024, reported in a finisher operation in southeastern Manitoba in early December, triggered a response under Manitoba's PED Elimination Plan.

Jenelle Hamblin, the Director of Swine Health with Manitoba Pork, says the outbreak has been limited to one operation and that farm is now working its way through elimination.

Quote-Jenelle Hamblin-Manitoba Pork:

At suspicion, so even before confirmation on the ground, that premises is immediately put under strict biocontainment and that is outlined as part of our elimination plan and enhanced biosecurity is implemented, limiting your ins and outs until you know what you're dealing with that biocontainment is put on immediately.

Then, once it was confirmed to be PED, that biocontainment and enhanced biosecurity remains.In terms of elimination, our plan does outline the tried-and-true elimination protocols or steps that we know well here in Manitoba so it did give us the opportunity to practice our plans and what we've put together and, to this point, I'm very proud of the work the sector has done to implement the PED action plan, to hold the cases just to one.We haven't seen any spillover to any other premises at this point.

That enhanced biosecurity in the area remains a high priority, especially as the disease works toward elimination.We've been over a month since that case has broken in early December and we haven't seen spill over so I am optimistic and giving credit to the sector for the work they've done to respond to this case on the farm as well as protect the premises that are close by.

Hamblin says strategies will look a little different for different contamination pathways but enhanced biosecurity will provide protection not only from PED but from other known or potentially unknown pathogens.