WATERLOO Ontario had almost eight times the number of cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) in 2014 than the rest of the country combined. There were a total of 69 cases of PEDV in Ontario last year. Huron County was home to 16 cases, the most in the province, while Oxford was second with 10 cases. There were nine cases of PEDV outside of Ontario in 2014: Four in Quebec, four in Manitoba and one in Prince Edward Island. There were four new cases of the disease in Ontario in December: The disease was found in a finisher barn in Niagara on Dec. 2, a finisher barn in Oxford on Dec. 8, a finisher barn in Waterloo on Dec. 17 and a farrow-to-wean barn in Waterloo on Dec. 23. PEDV causes watery diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration and can kill 50 to 100 per cent of young pigs. It looks similar to other types of swine diseases, such as Transmissible Gastroenteritis virus. PEDV spreads more easily in cold weather.
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