NPA has asked everyone in British agriculture to help keep a new pig disease out of Europe. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus has been present in this country in a mild form for over 40 years. But new strains which have spread from China to the United States are wiping out whole generations of newly-born pigs — and there is no effective treatment.

The pig keepers' group said this week that it is essential the new strains are kept out of Britain and called on "everyone involved in farming" to adopt a number of extra-precautionary measures, in order to prevent the new diseases' spread.

The Associations said only absolutely essential visitors from overseas should be allowed onto pig farms and they must have entered Britain at least three days before the visit. Only unit clothing and footwear should be worn on the unit. Similarly, people returning from overseas should allow themselves three days before being considered 'pig-free'.

NPA is asking all pig-keepers — including hobby farmers — to run a critical eye over all their current biosecurity measures and see where they can be improved. In addition to its general advice and calls to abide by solid biosecurity measures, NPA urged pig keepers to consider the following:

• Contact their vet if they see unusual clinical problems with diarrhoea, particularly in piglets.
• Work with their nutritionist, feed supplier and vet to check the provenance of nutritional products used on their farm, and consider whether any might pose an unacceptable risk.
• Never allow meat products onto pig units, because of their potential to introduce serious diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever, African Swine Fever, and perhaps the new virulent strains of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea.

The Association is urging genetics companies to think carefully before importing live pigs from the States for the time being, regardless of the high level of biosecurity usually attached to such shipments.

The current outbreak in the States, which is still spreading, is causing losses of up to 100 percent of affected piglets and has been reported on over 200 units in 13 states since May. The virus from the outbreak in the States is said to be 99.4 percent similar to an outbreak in China which has killed more than a million piglets since October 2010.