A Second Pig Virus Outbreak Fuels Pork Supply Concerns

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Pork supplies may become limited as farms experience a second pig virus outbreak.

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A pig virus that killed 10% of the hogs in the United States last year has been spreading around farms again this year. The virus, called Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), almost always kills piglets. It was thought that the virus wouldn’t hit again for several years due to pigs becoming immune to it after lat year’s outbreak, reports Reuters.

The first farm to publicly announce that it has been hit by the pig virus a second time is in Indiana. The farm isn’t being identified, but did say it had been infected. Other farms have also been hit by PEDv a second time, but they haven’t come out to publicly announce it. This could cause pork prices to soar past last year’s record prices when the first round of the PEDv occurred, Reuters notes.

An answer to the pig virus may come from Neogen (NEOG). The company has announced that it has completed trials of two disinfectants that are effective at combating PEDv. The disinfectants passed Good Laboratory Practice protocols and meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for a label claim. These two disinfectants are now waiting for approval from the EPA.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/05/pig-virus-pork-supply/.

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