Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED)
A highly infectious virus causing severe diarrhoea, with up to 100% deaths in suckling piglets. It is notifiable in Scotland.
Suspect PED? Report it to the Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre
PED is notifiable in Scotland, but it is reported differently from other notifiable diseases. Report any suspicion to the Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre (SPDCC), who will give you advice:
Tel: 01466 792284
Email: vet@scottishpigs.org.uk – but phone first if you suspect PED, so advice can be given straight away.
Contact your vet straight away too. There are no compulsory restrictions or culling if PED is suspected or confirmed, but everyone acting quickly and openly is what stops it spreading.
Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre
The Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre is operated by Scottish Pigs and provides command and control services for the pig industry during outbreaks of emerging or exotic diseases. Its simple objective is to minimise the welfare and economic impacts of serious disease outbreaks.
The close collaboration includes QMS, SRUC, ScotEID, veterinarians and farmers. State of the art systems are used to trace and map the spread of disease, enabling rapid decisions to be made to halt the spread.
What is PED?
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea is caused by a virus and leads to severe gut disease in pigs. It causes very high death rates in young piglets, and lost growth and reproductive performance in older pigs.
- PED does not infect people or other farm animals, and is not a food safety risk.
- It was last confirmed in Great Britain in 2002 (Scottish Government).
- It is notifiable in Scotland under the Specified Diseases (Notification) Amendment (Scotland) Order 2016.
Signs to look for
- A sudden, rapidly spreading outbreak of watery diarrhoea
- Whole litters of suckling piglets dehydrating and dying – deaths of up to 100%, in litters from sows of every parity
- Reduced appetite, lethargy and vomiting in pigs of all ages
- On outdoor units, piglets may be found dead before any diarrhoea is noticed
- On finishing-only sites, a sudden obvious outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting, but with few or no deaths
Stockpeople are the front line. Make sure everyone on your unit knows the signs and knows to call the vet straight away.
How PED spreads
The main source of the virus is infected faeces. Anything contaminated with even a tiny amount of infected pig muck can infect other pigs. It can be carried by:
PigsInfected pigs, and also semen and porcine blood plasma
VehiclesLorries, trailers and cars carrying muck – the virus is shed in very high amounts
PeopleBoots, clothing, hands – and pork products brought on to the farm
AnimalsRodents, birds, foxes, flies, pets and other livestock
Feed, bedding & waterAnything contaminated with pig faeces
AirPED can also spread through the airKeep it out – or keep it in
If you don’t have PED: keep it OUT
- Be clear what you expect from visiting vehicles and people
- Never cross the line of separation when loading pigs
- Source incoming pigs, semen and supplies carefully
- Keep wildlife and vermin out
If you have PED: keep it IN
- Stop all movements to and from the farm
- Stop all non-essential visits
- Clean and disinfect everything, scrupulously
- Plan any essential moves with SPDCC, your haulier and the destination
Key biosecurity measures against PED
- Line of separation: mark a clear line, for example at the lorry tailgate or halfway across the loading ramp. The haulier doesn’t cross it, farm staff don’t cross it, and nothing comes back across without being cleaned and disinfected. Only the pigs cross.
- Loading: keep the loading area at the farm perimeter, and clean and disinfect it immediately after every load.
- Visitors: keep them to essential visits only, with a period free of pig contact beforehand (usually at least overnight, and 72 hours for nucleus herds). Visitors sign in, and use farm boots and overalls.
- Danish (bench) entry: a single entrance where everyone changes footwear and clothing over a bench, from the dirty side to the clean side, every time.
- Vehicles: ideally none on the farm. Put feed bins, deadstock collection, deliveries and parking at the perimeter, and make sure lorries arrive clean, including the cab.
- No pork products brought on to the unit by staff or visitors.
- Cleaning: detergent first to remove all dirt, then disinfectant at the right strength, then let everything dry fully.
See our Biosecurity page for more.
Scotland’s PED contingency plan
The Scottish pig industry drew up a contingency plan to find and contain PED as quickly as possible if it reaches Scotland. Its approach could also be used for other new and emerging diseases. In outline:
- Find it early: prompt reporting and testing of suspect cases
- Map and trace: use ScotEID to trace movements from the last 30 days, and identify all pig holdings within 5 km
- Find the source: a rapid investigation by the farm vet, SPDCC and SRUC
- Watch for wider spread: targeted testing at markets, abattoirs, collection centres and haulier yards
- Step up biosecurity across the whole industry, including sealed and certified lorry washing
- Eliminate it from the farm: a tailored plan, with intensive cleaning and disinfection
- Control movements: plan any essential moves of pigs or manure with everyone involved
- Manage manure and fallen stock safely
- Confirm freedom: two successive negative monthly herd tests, and no clinical signs for at least 8 weeks
The plan depends on open sharing of information from the start, and on affected units acting responsibly to protect others.
Downloads
- Scottish Contingency Plan for the Control of PED (2015)PDF
- PED reporting process in Scotland (flowchart, 2016)PDF
- Practical biosecurity for pig farmers, smallholders and pet pig keepers in Scotland (SRUC leaflet)PDF
- Poster: Keep disease outPDF
- Poster: What to do if disease is confirmed in the areaPDF
These documents date from 2015–16. The principles still apply, but some contact details and arrangements in them may have changed. If in doubt, contact SPDCC on 01466 792284.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
AHDB publishes a set of standard operating procedures for preventing, containing and eliminating PED. Although written for PED, the biosecurity SOPs apply to all pig diseases. They open on the AHDB website.
- SOP 1a: Introduction to PED for pig producersWord · 2026
- SOP 1b: Introduction to PED for hauliersWord · 2026
- SOP 2: Reporting suspect PED outbreaksWord · 2026
- SOP 2.1: Suspect PED outbreaks – samples for testingWord · 2026
- SOP 3: Biosecurity principlesWord · 2026
- SOP 4: Farmgate biosecurity – peopleWord · 2026
- SOP 5: Farmgate biosecurity – vehiclesWord · 2026
- SOP 6: Line of separation and loading pigsWord · 2026
- SOP 7: Cleaning and disinfection of vehiclesWord · 2026
- SOP 8: Contain, control and eliminateWord · 2016
- SOP 9: Considerations for fallen stock disposalWord · 2016
- SOP 10: Movements from PED-infected sitesWord · 2016
- SOP 11: Intensive cleaning and disinfection of units following a PED breakdownWord · 2016
- SOP 12: Considerations for manure managementWord · 2016
- SOP 13: Advice for processorsWord · 2016
- SOP 14: Biosecurity briefing for the allied pig industryWord · 2016
- AHDB PED contingency plan (August 2022)PDF
The SOPs are © AHDB and are kept up to date on the AHDB PEDv page. In Scotland, report suspected PED to the Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre on 01466 792284.
More information
- Scottish Government: Porcine epidemic diarrhoea – how to spot and report the disease
- AHDB: Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDv) – the biosecurity summary on this page is based on the AHDB SOPs