Dr. Bill Hollis, the AASV’s delegate to the AVMA’s House of Delegates (HOD), authored a resolution seeking support from the AVMA for the swine industry’s efforts to promote a Comprehensive and Integrated Swine Surveillance (CISS) system. The resolution was considered by the HOD during their winter meeting January 9 in Chicago, IL.
The AASV and the swine industry have been working with the USDA for a number of years to promote a change in the way animal disease surveillance programs are undertaken. The goal is to move away from disease-specific surveillance programs to a more comprehensive system that adds additional flexibility to monitor a broader list of pertinent diseases including emerging syndromes and zoonotic diseases. The need for this type of surveillance program was highlighted by the recent novel H1N1 outbreak. This change is also in line with the vision of the USDA 2015 strategy and has received support from USDA as a model for a potential shift for all surveillance programs.
Following some discussion during the AVMA’s Allied Caucus meeting, the HOD passed the resolution by a unanimous vote. The group expressed interest in broadening the support in the future to include a similar effort for all pertinent animal species. For more information about the Comprehensive and Integrated Swine Surveillance system, please read the Advocacy in Action column in the March/April issue of JSHAP.