Evaluating the effect of manufacturing porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)-contaminated feed on subsequent feed mill environmental surface contamination

Abstract

With the introduction of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) to the United States in 2013 and the subsequent identification of feed as a route of transmission, identifying sources of feedstuff contamination and methods to reduce the risk of transmission at feed mills has become paramount. As with other biological hazards, contaminated ingredients can easily lead to cross-contamination of finished feeds and contamination throughout the facility. Therefore, the objective of this study was to monitor equipment and environmental contamination after manufacturing PEDV-positive feed and after the production of subsequent PEDV-negative feed. PEDV-positive feed (50 kg with 4.5 × 104 TCID50/g, Ct 11) was mixed in a 0.11m3 paddle mixer, discharged into a bucket elevator, and collected. Following processing of the contaminated feed, 4 subsequent batches of PEDV-free feed (sequence 1–4) were processed through the mixer and bucket elevator with no decontamination between batches to mimic commercial feed production. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus contamination of equipment and surrounding areas were monitored via the collection of swabs that were analyzed via quantitative PCR (qPCR) for PEDV RNA. Swabs were collected from equipment and facility surfaces prior and after processing contaminated feed and after processing subsequent sequenced batch diets. Monitored areas for equipment included the interior of the mixer and bucket elevator. Facility areas included high and low foot traffic areas (concrete), floor drain (concrete), worker boot bottoms (rubber), table (metal), and door (metal). Three replications of contaminated feed and subsequent sequence batch diet processing was completed, with equipment and facility decontamination between replicates. Following qPCR analysis, Ct values ? 40 were considered PEDV-positive and all numerical data was converted to ± for statistical analysis via PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. The interactions feed contact surface by sequence were found to be significant (P < 0.01). All swabs collected from equipment surfaces after processing of PEDV-positive feed were positive for PEDV, while 16 of 18 of the collected facility swabs were positive for PEDV RNA. Following processing of the first sequence batch diet, 100% of equipment surfaces and 88.9% of facility surfaces were positive for PEDV. Surprisingly, a large percentage of equipment and facility surfaces remained PEDV-positive through the processing of the subsequent sequence batch diets. Furthermore, all swabs collected from concrete and rubber surfaces remained PEDV-positive through all processing of all diets. This study demonstrates the extent of equipment and facility contamination that could occur in a feed manufacturing facility after processing of PEDV-contaminated feed.