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Pig farmers in the U.S. work to protect their pigs from the deadly Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv). This comes as the EU toughens rules on pig imports. Full story: A lethal pig virus sweeping across farms in the United States has farmers stepping up their bio-security measures. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) has killed about 7 million baby pigs since it was detected a year ago in the United States, where the outbreak has been most severe. It has also appeared in Canada and parts of Asia. The disease is not harmful to humans. On the family-owned Flying Pigs Farm in the upstate New York town of Shushan, pig farm owner Michael Yezzi said very little is known about this deadly disease. "It's not known all the details, but it's very virulent, easily transmitted, hard to get rid of, especially on a soil pasture base like we are. Once it gets into the soil, there's-no getting rid of it," explained the farmer during an interview with Reuters Television on Tuesday (May 6). He added, "The disease is causing a loss of a lot of piglets across the country and in some of our biggest pork producing states; North Carolina, Iowa. And so 5 to 10 to 15 percent of the pigs are being lost, which is going to severely impact farms as well as the supply of pork in the country. So, that's a serious issue. And then the precautionary steps that everybody is taking to help fight the disease is another consumption of time and resources, an appropriate one, but nonetheless another cost of this disease." According to agribusiness research firm Rabobank, the virus could cut pork production by as much as 7 percent this year, a far steeper decline than the government has forecast. The Rabobank research note estimated there would be a 6 percent to 7 percent drop in 2014 U.S. pork production tied to losses from the virus. The USDA has said PEDv could reduce output by 2 percent. Tyson Foods Inc, the country's top meat packer, expects a decline of as much as 4 percent in U.S. pork production for the year, partially offset by heavier hog weights, it said on Monday (May 5). Yezzi's said last year he sold 1,000 pigs mostly to local green markets and direct to restaurants. In response to the outbreak, Yezzi said, "We're just re-doubling our bio-security practices." He added he did not think the expense of disease prevention would adversely affect his business. With many researchers focusing on animal feed that contains pork by-products, Yezzi said there are no pig by-products in the feed his pigs consume. He said his pigs are fed a diet of ground corn and soy with added mineral supplements. Overseas, the European Union (EU) addressed worries that this virulent strain could make its way to Europe next. It announced new rules on Tuesday (May 6) aimed at ensuring imported pig blood used in some animal feed was free of the virus. It said an expert committee had introduced a requirement that any blood products to be imported to the European Union for use in pig feed must have been treated at 80 degrees Celsius (176 degrees Fahrenheit), followed by storage for six weeks at room temperature, which the Commission said would ensure any coronavirus present was inactivated. It also said the Commission would continue to review the situation and its expert committee would meet again early in June. Yezzi told Reuters the new EU rules might be necessary precaution. "I sort of favor the precautionary rule. Being careful. It's not something we want to spread to other countries or even other farms within the U.S. So until we know more about it, I think that appropriate caution is a good idea." France had said it was considering a unilateral ban on imports of pigs and pig by-products from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. But it later welcomed the new EU measures announced on Tuesday, adding France would not introduce a separate ban. The United States is the world's largest pork exporter.