No virus reported in pigs, state says

USDA incorrect, veterinarian says

There are no pigs sick from the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus in Arkansas, says State Veterinarian Pat Badley.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Thursday incorrectly stated that a piglet had been infected in the state, Badley said. The piglet in question was actually located at a Cargill facility in Missouri, he said.

"Cargill has their swine headquarters in Russellville," Badley said. "Since this was a Cargill herd, the test went in the billing address of Russellville, though it had a Missouri premise number."

"The [National Animal Health Laboratory] in Minnesota took the billing address and made it the farm address," he said.

Missouri is no stranger to the virus. More than 900 biological samples from the state have tested positive for PED since November 2013, according to the USDA report.

A Cargill veterinarian who wished not to be named and Joelle Hayden, a USDA spokesman, confirmed Badley's account of the infection. At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the incorrect report remained on the USDA website.

Badley said it was the second time a test from the same Missouri farm had put Arkansas on the USDA's list of infected states.

Around 8 million pigs have died from the virus in the past year -- about 10 percent of the U.S. herd. The virus is present in 30 states, including five out of the six states that border Arkansas, according to the USDA report. In addition to Missouri, the other infected states are Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

F. Dustin Clark, extension veterinarian with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said producers are focused on keeping the virus out of unaffected facilities.

"The best thing that can be done is to follow all of the biosecurity procedures," he said. "That includes good cleaning, good sanitation and limiting foot traffic."

Arkansas and the USDA also have taken steps to attempt to limit the spread of the virus.

In February, Arkansas began requiring swine exhibitors to certify that their pigs had not originated from a premises known to be affected by PED and had not been exposed to PED within 60 days.

On June 5, the USDA announced it was devoting $26.2 million to fight the virus and issued a federal order requiring producers, veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories to report all cases of PED to the USDA or state animal health officials. Badley said the Cargill sample in question was sent before the federal order was issued.

Business on 06/25/2014

Upcoming Events