Hemorrhagic tracheitis syndrome (HTS) has been diagnosed in Canada for years and has now reached the US. Practitioners and diagnosticians in Canada and the US provided insight into the syndrome’s progression during a webinar sponsored by the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) and American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV). Held on Thursday, April 2, 2020, the webinar provided information on the syndrome, its signalments, tissues for postmortem assessment, and management. There were 238 participants in the webinar which is available to view here.
Presenters during the webinar were Dr. Joseph Rudolphi, Rudolphi Veterinary Service Ltd., Dr. Mike Pierdon, Four Star Veterinary Service, Dr. Josepha DeLay, University of Guelph’s Animal Health Laboratory, and Dr. Alyona Michael, Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Dr. Rudolphi shared experience from his practice with HTS, including observations of affected herds, necropsy findings, lab workup information, treatments used, and his theories on how the syndrome affects pigs. Dr. Pierdon relates details from cases of HTS in his clients’ herds, sharing his diagnosis came after the syndrome was no longer affecting animals. He also shares lab workup details, treatments used, and take away messages from the incidents.
Dr. DeLay gave an in-depth look at HTS in Canada from the University of Guelph Veterinary Diagnostic Lab’s point of view. This includes discussion on etiologies, pathogenesis, and diagnostic challenges. Then Dr. Michael provided an overview from the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab over the past 13 years. This report included timelines, primary pathology identified, culture results, and mechanical factors.
Dr. Michael also shared a diagnostic plan for HTS presented jointly by the Guelph and ISU diagnostic labs for standardization of workups to include case definitions, uniform submissions, and lab evaluations.
Looking for a specific topic or presenter in the webinar? Use the timeline in the video description to go to the segment you choose.
SHIC 2020 Webinar Series
SHIC will be offering a series of webinars in 2020, following a successful webinar on porcine sapelovirus and its role in myelitis offered in October 2019. The viral myelitis webinar was recorded and is available on the AASV website for review. The intent of the webinars in 2020 is to respond to "industry chatter" about current swine health issues. Topics and timing have not been set as the plan is to respond in a timely manner to questions and cases practitioners face, providing resources as well as other veterinarians’ discussion and experience. If you have ideas for webinars, please share those with SHIC Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg by emailing psundberg@swinehealth.org.
Funded by America’s pork producers to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd, SHIC focuses its efforts on prevention, preparedness, and response. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research for the benefit of swine health. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Sundberg at psundberg@swinehealth.org.