U.S. hogs fed pig remains, manure to fend off deadly virus return

In Oklahoma, farm workers are mixing manure from swine sick with the disease, known as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), into the food of healthy animals to build their immunity. The virus, which causes severe diarrhea that kills baby pigs, thrives in cold weather, and declining immunity in the U.S. herd has raised the risk of another outbreak to the highest level since 2013, when pork prices soared to record highs, veterinarians said. Veterinarians said that attempts to deliberately expose hogs to the virus also help reduce the risk of an outbreak as big as the one that began in 2013, although it is not clear how many farmers are taking such precautions.