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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #329762

Title: Status of vaccines for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the United States and Canada

Author
item CRAWFORD, KIMBERLY - Orise Fellow
item KULSHRESHTHA, VIKAS - Orise Fellow
item Lager, Kelly
item Miller, Laura
item Faaberg, Kay

Submitted to: Virus Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/8/2016
Publication Date: 12/2/2016
Citation: Crawford, K., Kulshreshtha, V., Lager, K.M., Miller, L.C., Faaberg, K.S. 2016. Status of vaccines for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the United States and Canada. Virus Research. 226:108-116.

Interpretive Summary: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was foreign to the United States prior to the spring of 2013, when it suddenly caused outbreaks and resulted in massive death losses in neonatal piglets. Because the pregnant sows had not previously been infected with PEDV, they were not immune to the virus and could not provide passive immunity to the fetal piglets. Presently, most US swine herds have entered into an endemic state of infection, which still leads to chronic piglet death although less in magnitude. This endemic state and the occasional naïve herd that breaks with PEDV demonstrate a need to immunize sows to protect fetal piglets. Stimulating PEDV immunity in the sow using safe and efficacious vaccines is the best course of action, yet the development of sow vaccines is very costly. This manuscript reviews the status of PEDV vaccines available in the United States and describes an experiment evaluating the potential use of young pigs as a model to evaluate potential sow vaccines.

Technical Abstract: In 2013, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) emerged in the United States as a rapidly spreading epidemic causing dramatic death losses in suckling piglets. Neonatal piglets are most vulnerable to clinical disease and their only protection is passive immunity from their dam. At the end of the third year of the PEDV outbreak, most US sow herds have been infected and many are entering into an endemic disease with much less, but still chronic losses. This endemic state and the occasional naïve herd that breaks with PEDV demonstrate a need to immunize sows to protect piglets. Stimulating PEDV immunity in the sow using safe and efficacious vaccines is the best course of action; however, conducting such studies to develop sow vaccines is very costly and logistically difficult. This manuscript reviews the status of PEDV vaccines available in the United States and describes an experiment evaluating the potential use of young pigs as a surrogate model to evaluate potential sow vaccines.