The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) conducts national studies to be representative of the U.S. pork industry, generally focusing on operations with 100 or more swine in the top swine-producing States. Studies conducted in 2000, 2006, and 2012 collected cross-sectional data on animal health, management, and productivity. On a subset of the production sites, sera were collected from late finishing pigs and/or breeding females. Sera have been maintained frozen at the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). Aliquots from the serum bank and linked data from the related NAHMS study are available for research purposes to benefit the U.S. pork industry.
Process: Proposals should be submitted per guidelines below. Proposals will be vetted by a small panel of USDA and industry representatives. For approved proposals, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the principal investigator and USDA:APHIS. A minimal fee will be charged for shipping and handling of sera. After the NAHMS sera are tested the principal investigator will send a copy of unsummarized test results to NAHMS, e.g., in an Excel spreadsheet.
Proposal guidelines: To submit a proposal, provide information on the principal investigator(s) including name, institution, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Indicate which NAHMS studies (2000, 2006, and/or 2012) sera are being requested from. Include a brief summary for each pathogen to be tested.
Please include the following information in each proposal:
- Significance of the problem to be studied for the U.S. pork industry
- Objectives of the study
- Funding sources for the study
- Name of laboratory and person that will test the sera
- Which test(s) will be used and why they were chosen
- References for test validity and performance characteristics (diagnostic sensitivity and specificity)
- Specifications for running the test(s), such as amount of serum and handling requirements
- NAHMS data fields that are requested to be linked with test results
- Target publication and the anticipated publication date
Please send proposals by July 30, 2018 to
Dr. Eric Bush
USDA:APHIS:VS
2150 Centre Ave., Bldg B-2E7
Fort Collins, CO 80526
(970) 494-7260
Eric.J.Bush@aphis.usda.gov