RALEIGH -- Nearly one third of the state's 32,000 commercial hog farms have been hit by a fast-spreading virus that usually kills every piglet it infects. Tom Ray, with the State Veterinarian's office, stresses that the condition, PED, cannot be spread to people.

Ray said, "There's no human health issues. Regardless of what it is, sick animals are not sent for processing."

Like the human flu, the PED virus thrives in cold, wet winter conditions. Recently it has been popping up on North Carolina farms at a rate of nearly 100 a week, according to State Veterinarian David Marshall's office. PED is believed to have originated in China.