Amy Cronin hopes a disease outbreak that has killed millions of baby pigs in the United States in just a few months since it first appeared last May can be stopped at the border.

The virus — Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea — has spread to farms in 22 U.S. states, killing about three million pigs and driving up pork prices.

“It is a pretty nasty disease. It would have a huge economic impact if it made its way here,” said Cronin, a Huron County pork farmer and chair of Ontario Pork.

The pork board estimates Ontario farmers would take a $45 million hit from the disease.

Producing pigs is a $1 billion a year industry for farmers in Ontario with much of the production concentrated in the London region.

The pork board has already thrown about $150,000 at prevention measures to keep the disease out of the province, Cronin said.

The main worry is that trucks taking Ontario pigs to the U.S. will bring the disease back.

The virus is mainly transmitted through manure and requires only a small piece of contaminated manure to spread.

Measures to keep the disease out include giving livestock truckers boots that are thrown out after they deliver their load to the U.S. and having separate trailers for exporting hogs and for transporting pigs within the province.

“I really believe we can keep this disease out,” Cronin said.

But with a highly contagious disease there are no guarantees, she said.

The one bright spot is the virus poses no risk for people, Cronin said.

While adult pigs will get sick and recover, PED kills 100% of newborn pigs.

U.S. agricultural officials say cold weather is helping to spread the disease with the virus living for up to 14 days in manure slurry at room temperature, but more than 28 days in cold slurry.

And it can be spread in unexpected ways.

Officials in Iowa tested the floors of 50 different convenience stores and all tested positive for the virus. Farmers as a result have been advised to bypass convenience stores.

“If a person goes into the store for coffee and a roll after selling a load of hogs, they risk picking up the PED virus on their shoes, which then could infect their whole herd at home,” said an advisory to farmers by South Dakota State University.

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Ontario's pork industry

Number of pigs on Ontario farms: 3 million

Top producing counties in Ontario: Perth, Huron, Oxford, Wellington, Middlesex and Lambton