Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) — a viral disease that has a high fatality rate for infected piglets — is rapidly spreading in Japan. Not only pigs but also humans and vehicles can transmit the PED virus. Pig farmers and the central and local governments need to do their utmost to prevent infection of pigs and to halt the spread of the disease.
PED was first confirmed in Europe in the 1970s. The first outbreak in Japan took place in the 1980s and the disease became rampant in the '90s. There was a small-scale outbreak in 2006 but none since, leading to a decrease in vaccinations. Pigs' resistance to the disease has lessened and that is helping to fuel the disease's rapid spread now.
The first cases in the current outbreak were confirmed in Okinawa Prefecture in October, which resulted in 75 deaths among 242 infected pigs. Although the outbreak of the disease waned in February, it gained strength in March, spreading in Kyushu and then Chugoku, Shikoku and eastern Japan.