Following a unanimous vote by its board of directors, the National Pork Board has committed to investing an additional $350,000 toward research, education and coordination of efforts to better understand Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, or PEDV. This increase in funding is in addition to $450,000 announced in June, bringing total Checkoff dollars invested to $800,000.
"Our No. 1 priority is to contain spread of the virus with the goal of increasing the potential to eliminate the disease," said Dr. Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology at the National Pork Board. "Through research we just completed, we already have determined that transportation of sows and market hogs can be a major risk factor in the spread of PEDV."