A new study from Iowa State University has confirmed that water-based cleaning and disinfection protocols are the most effective methods for reducing contamination and inactivating Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in swine transport trailers.
Funded through the Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, in collaboration with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff, the study compared several trailer cleaning strategies. Researchers evaluated an untreated positive and negative control, alongside three cleaning methods:
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Dry scrape and bake followed by heat treatment
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Volume hose flush with disinfectant
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Power wash with disinfectant
According to SHIC Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder, both the volume hose and power wash methods reduced viral contamination by more than 99% and completely inactivated PEDv. In contrast, the scrape and bake method did reduce the viral load but failed to inactivate the virus.
“This study underscores the importance of thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols, especially for market haul trailers returning to the farm from high-risk areas like slaughterhouses,” said Dr. Niederwerder. “Contaminated trailers pose a serious risk of reintroducing PEDv onto farms.”
The findings reinforce the need for cost-effective, water-based biosecurity protocols to limit the spread of PEDv across swine production systems.
The full research report is available at www.swinehealth.org.
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