Objectives: To determine temperature and time applications sufficient to inactivate porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) on a commercial livestock trailer, and practical within the constraints of current thermo-assisted drying and decontamination (TADD) capabilities in the industry.

Materials and methods: Thirty-two 4-week-old barrows were inoculated via oral gastric tube with 5 mL of either PEDV-negative feces (Neg; n = 4), untreated PEDV-positive feces (Pos; n = 4), or PEDV-positive feces subjected to 71°C for 10 minutes (71C-10M; n = 4), 63°C for 10 minutes (63C-10M; n = 4), 54°C for 10 minutes (54C-10M; n = 4), 38°C for 12 hours (38C-12H; n = 4), 20°C for 24 hours (20C-24H; n = 4), or 20°C for 7 days (20C-7D; n = 4). These pigs served as a bioassay to determine the infectivity of virus following treatment. Bioassay results were determined by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on rectal swabs collected from the inoculated pigs on days 3 and 7 post inoculation.

Results: None of the pigs in the 71C-10M and 20C-7D groups became infected with PEDV. This result differed significantly from that of the Pos group (P < .05). Results of the other groups did not differ significantly from that of the Pos group (P > .05).

Implication: Holding PEDV in the presence of feces at 71°C for 10 minutes or at 20°C (room temperature) for 7 days is sufficient to inactivate the virus, preventing transmission under the conditions of this study.