Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus keeps swine producers up at night — and for good reason. This α-coronavirus tears through the intestinal lining of pigs with brutal efficiency. Newborn piglets are the hardest hit. Once infected, mortality runs high, and the few that survive rarely catch up on growth. The virus first surfaced in Europe decades ago. Since then, it has spread to China, the United States, South Korea, and Japan. It mutates relentlessly. New strains appear with higher virulence and sharper transmissibility, outpacing vaccine development. The industry bleeds billions every year. And after all this time, there is still no approved antiviral drug that specifically targets PEDV. Some researchers looking…