A recent study was conducted to determine if organic acids are effective in reducing the infection level of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv). The study began by adding 5 grams of feed into vials and then mixing in one of four additives. A modified concentration of sugar and salt was tested in additional vials as methods of modifying the composition and water activity of the diets. A paired control vial was incubated without additives.
The acidifier that produced the fastest inactivation kinetics was Novus’ ACTIVATE® DA (0.4) followed by Competitor B (1.8), sugar (5.6), and Competitor C (9.9). There were no differences in the inactivation kinetics of PEDv between the control samples and samples treated with Competitor A (18.9) or salt (14.6). ACTIVATE DA had a low delta value, which is observed by a sharp decrease in virus concentration in the first day of incubation.
This is the type of curve that is desirable to reduce virus survivability and supports the conclusion that ACTIVATE DA is an effective additive in reducing PEDV survival in feed.
Read more to learn about reducing PEDv risk with organic acid feed additives.