Outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in Suckling Piglets, China

To the Editor: Beginning in October 2010, porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), caused by a coronaviral infection affecting pigs, emerged in China in an outbreak characterized by high mortality rates among suckling piglets. The outbreak overwhelmed >10 provinces in southern China, and >1,000,000 piglets died. This outbreak was distinguished by ≈100% illness among piglets after birth (predominantly within 7 days and sometimes within only a few hours) and death rates of 80%–100% (Technical Appendix Table 1). Few sows or boars showed any clinical signs during the outbreak, which is not consistent with a recent report from Thailand (1). In that outbreak during late 2007, pigs of all ages were affected, exhibiting…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

  Award: KR1293
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: DP1-OD000370