The Canadian Swine Health Board (CSHB) has advised pig producers not to feed blood plasma products until definite evidence proves there’s no link between the product and the spread of PEDv.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested the product last month and could not verify a connection, but some of the country’s vets are not convinced.
Speaking at a conference on PED arranged by Alberta Pork, vet Dr Frank Marshall said that while the benefits of blood plasma in starting little pigs under 21 days was well known, he had totally lost confidence in the product.
And Dr Lucie Verdon, a vet and national co-ordinator of the CSHB, also advised caution.
“Dispose of it, but don’t spread it on your fields,” she said. ”Park it and don’t use it for now. If you have any in your bins, empty it.”
Dr Marshall added that hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) processes in feed mills should deactivate viruses in most feed mixes, but not in creep feed.
“We know that this virus takes 60C for 30 minutes to kill it,” he said. “In the softer pellet, the creep feed, they don’t use the higher temperature.”
The pelleting procedure for creep feed is to heat it to 75C for a few seconds. The virus is likely still alive and potentially infective if it is deep inside the pellet.