Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus causes devastating mortality in young piglets — the welfare burden of this disease and its prevention deserve greater attention.
Porcine epidemic diarrhea represents one of the clearest examples of disease-caused welfare harm at scale in pig production. The suffering caused by severe diarrheal disease in neonatal piglets — dehydration, loss of body condition, failure to nurse, and death within days — is genuine and significant. Prevention through biosecurity is the primary welfare tool: preventing virus introduction through cleaning and disinfection of vehicles, equipment, and facilities, controlling visitor access, and maintaining high hygiene standards at farrowing. When outbreaks occur, welfare-focused response includes palliative care for affected piglets, culling of severely affected animals too ill to recover, and rapid implementation of biosecurity measures to limit spread.