A Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Outbreak in One Geographic Region of the United States: Descriptive Epidemiology and Investigation of the Possibility of Airborne Virus Spread

Beam, Andrea; Goede, Dane; Fox, Andrew; McCool, Mary Jane; Wall, Goldlin; Haley, Charles; Morrison, Robert

Finally, several limitations relate to our use of meteorological data, specifically wind information. Wind can generate complex air movement patterns due to changes throughout the day and week. Therefore, we can look only at general trends. Also, wind can vary greatly over the course of a day or week. This analysis considers the predominant wind direction. It is possible, however, that strong gusts of wind occurred in other directions. These gusts could have spread virus in directions other than the predominant wind direction. Furthermore, to more completely describe the influence of wind, we need more information about how far a virus travels at various wind speeds and about what particle sizes (e.g., dust) could carry PEDv. Without knowing the transport mechanism in the air, it is difficult to say what influences wind direction and wind speed could have on the spread of PEDv among sites.