SFagan NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Searching for Clues to a Virulent Virus that Changed America’s Hog Industry In the spring of 2013, hundreds of baby pigs were dying off and nobody knew what was making them so sick. As a deadly virus hopscotched across farms, researchers went to work as disease detectives, hoping to contain, identify and track the cause. The virus was identified as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, never before seen in the U.S. It killed millions of piglets, cost the pork industry roughly $1 billion and sent prices at the grocery store soaring. Harvest Public Media spent months examining PED’s outbreak, piecing together interviews, government reports and public documents. What we found is an intriguing international mystery about an emerging virus so virulent it could withstand the rough ride from China to the States, possibly by latching onto a common cargo container. We also found an industry struggling to prepare for PED to possibly decimate the industry a second time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLG NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Tracking A Farm Virus Thu, 16 Sep 2021 08:01:09 +0000 https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Amy Mayer Animal feed mixed from ingredients sourced around the world could be carrying more than the vitamins and nutrients livestock need. Seven different viruses that could cause widespread illness and big economic losses for meat producers in the United States can survive in certain imported feed products. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/study-animal-feed-could-be-carrying-next-deadly-livestock-virus 486 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 12 Apr 2018 19:07:27 +0000 Study: Animal Feed Could Be Carrying The Next Deadly Livestock Virus Amy Mayer One of the ways researchers study and try to contain outbreaks is by tracing the virus’ path. But that was especially confusing with the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, or PED. The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at Iowa State University first identified PED in the U.S. in May 2013. Then, they went back to samples from hog farms they had in storage and were able to track the virus back to an Ohio farm in April 2013. From there, it spread quickly. First state diagnostic labs and then the U.S. Department of Agriculture jumped in on the tracking , watching as it hopscotched among unconnected farms, eventually leaping to Hawaii and Puerto Rico. In about two and a half years, the virus has infected 35 states and taken the lives of about six million piglets. It poses no threat to human health or food safety, though if infections swell in the winter months to come, consumers could be paying a premium for barbecue and bacon next summer, much as they did in 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLG https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/watch-deadly-foreign-pig-virus-swept-across-us-killing-millions-piglets 225 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 16 Dec 2015 06:00:00 +0000 Watch: Deadly Foreign Pig Virus Swept Across U.S., Killing Millions Of Piglets Amy Mayer A fast-spreading virus never before seen in the United States hit the pork industry more than two years ago, racking up roughly $1 billion in losses and spiking prices for consumers. While researchers are still trying to track the culprit, it appears to be an intrepid world traveler that may have been delivered directly to farmers’ barn doors, creating an intriguing international back story traced to China. Harvest Public Media spent months examining the outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and its haphazard, rapid spread across the country. PED doesn’t threaten food safety or human health, but it does jeopardize the food supply. What we have pieced together from interviews and public records shows that PED confounded researchers and industry insiders scrambling to contain it. Even so, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stalled for a year on making reporting the disease mandatory, which could have helped in preventing the devastating spread. Looking back raises questions: Where https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/deadly-pig-virus-remains-mystery-and-threat 223 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 11 Dec 2015 06:00:00 +0000 Deadly Pig Virus Remains A Mystery – And A Threat Amy Mayer Veterinarian and researcher Scott Dee doesn’t much look the part of a detective, in his jeans and company polo shirt. But when a virus never before seen in North America swept through the network of hog farms where he works, Pipestone Veterinary Services , in January 2014, he had his first clue. “These farms had the same pattern of infection,” Dee said. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus has killed millions of pigs over the past two and a half years, as much as a tenth of the total U.S. swine herd . While many consumers may not know much about it, they likely paid the price: the outbreak caused a sharp rise in the price of bacon , ribs, and chops during the summer of 2014. Since then, Dee has played a researching role in an outbreak that has dramatically changed the meat industry, making a mild-mannered Minnesota veterinarian into a kind of germ gumshoe as he traced the virus from Beijing to Des Moines. He’s working fast. The industry fears that PED, not yet eradicated and known as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/detective-veterinarian-pursues-mysterious-globe-trotting-virus 224 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 11 Dec 2015 06:00:00 +0000 Detective Veterinarian Pursues Mysterious Globe-Trotting Virus