PEDv seen as a threat to Australia
A report has emerged stating that Australian veterinary scientists are on the lookout for an outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDv) in the country.
PEDv has thus far killed millions of piglets in the US, across 23 stated and has also spread to Canada and Mexico.
Currently, scientists at the CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong are studying the virus.
Dr James Watson, CSIRO veterinary investigation leader has said, “The first thing that we’ve done, seeing what’s happened in the US, is to make sure that we have tests available that allow us to very rapidly detect the virus, so that if we are asked to exclude the virus in a disease situation we can do that as rapidly as possible, or, in the unfortunate circumstance where it arrives, to allow control measures to be introduced as soon as possible.”
He further added that “despite Australia’s strict biosecurity regimes, there are concerns the PED virus could make it here,” said an ABC Rural report.
Watson also stated that in the likelihood that the virus is present in the country, the animal health laboratory is in a position to quickly identify PEDv.
Source: ABC Rural
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