--- description: It sounds about as bad as anything you can imagine: “Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.” PEDv, for short, is a virus that first appeared in the United... title: Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Could Lead to Higher Pork Prices image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt858355912f7b622c/6986856c169ab058642783b1/464552715.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Food & Drink](/tag/food-drink/) ## Food & Drink Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Crazy Pig Diarrhea Epidemic May Ruin Your Dinner Plans by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2014 12:10 PM CUT  auf der Messe Gruene Woche, Berlin, 17.01.2014\. Copyright: Michael Gottschalk/ photothek.net \[Tel. +493028097440 - www.photothek.net - Jegliche Verwendung nur gegen Honorar und Beleg. Urheber-/Agenturvermerk wird nach Paragraph13 UrhG ausdruecklich verlangt! Es gelten ausschliesslich unsere AGB.\] auf der Messe Gruene Woche, Berlin, 17.01.2014\. Copyright: Michael Gottschalk/ photothek.net \[Tel. +493028097440 - www.photothek.net - Jegliche Verwendung nur gegen Honorar und Beleg. Urheber-/Agenturvermerk wird nach Paragraph13 UrhG ausdruecklich verlangt! Es gelten ausschliesslich unsere AGB.\]Michael Gottschalk—Photothek via Getty Images by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2014 12:10 PM CUT It sounds about as bad as anything you can imagine: “Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.” PEDv, for short, is a virus that first appeared in the United States last year, [reports _Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-usa-hogs-virus-idUSBREA2C23Z20140313 "undefined"). A harsh winter has seen the animal disease, which causes pigs to become sick in a way similar to a human stomach virus, spread to 27 states. In the last year, [PEDv](http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/livestock/pedv-dangers-cause-swine-certification-during-importation/article%5F68f4cbfc-a581-11e3-ab36-0019bb2963f4.html "undefined") has killed four to five million pigs; it’s particularly deadly for piglets, killing 80% to 100% of infected babies. The good news: humans can’t get it. It’s not the “swine flu” that broke out in 2009, for example. However, the epidemic may ultimately end up affecting your dinner table if the crisis worsens and pork prices rise as a consequence. “While it has absolutely no impact on food safety, it has clear implications for the pork industry in terms of supplying pork to consumers,” the president of the [National Pork Board](http://www.pork.org/Home.aspx#.UyLwhVFdUdI "undefined") said [in a statement](http://www.pork.org/News/4045/PEDVUpdate.aspx#.UyLwq1FdUdJ "undefined"). \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-usa-hogs-virus-idUSBREA2C23Z20140313 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/24776/crazy-pig-diarrhea-epidemic-may-ruin-your-dinner-plans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/24776/crazy-pig-diarrhea-epidemic-may-ruin-your-dinner-plans/"},"headline":"Crazy Pig Diarrhea Epidemic May Ruin Your Dinner Plans","datePublished":"2014-03-14T12:10:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:46:17.752Z","description":"It sounds about as bad as anything you can imagine: “Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.” PEDv, for short, is a virus that first appeared in the United...","url":"https://time.com/24776/crazy-pig-diarrhea-epidemic-may-ruin-your-dinner-plans/","keywords":["Food & Drink","Saving & Spending"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt858355912f7b622c/6986856c169ab058642783b1/464552715.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Vella","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-vella/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt858355912f7b622c/6986856c169ab058642783b1/464552715.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sow with piglets","caption":"Sow with piglets","creditText":"Michael Gottschalk—Photothek via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-drink/","name":"Food & Drink"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/24776/crazy-pig-diarrhea-epidemic-may-ruin-your-dinner-plans/","name":"Crazy Pig Diarrhea Epidemic May Ruin Your Dinner Plans"}}]}] ```