The Swine Health Information Center annually solicits input for its Plan of Work which guides its activities. Now being developed, SHIC is requesting ideas for its 2025 Plan. SHIC’s five strategic priorities include 1) improving swine health information, 2) monitoring and mitigating risks to swine health, 3) responding to emerging disease, 4) surveillance and discovery of emerging disease, and 5) swine disease matrices. These priorities guide the Center’s Plan of Work along with stakeholder input. Once developed, the 2025 Plan of Work will be implemented by Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder and Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton with input from the SHIC Board of Directors and SHIC Working Groups.
Stakeholder input for SHIC’s 2025 Plan of work can be submitted here and is requested by November 8, 2024. All swine industry stakeholders are encouraged and welcomed to provide feedback. Input may include topic areas, research priorities, and/or identified industry needs that will focus SHIC’s programmatic and research efforts in 2025, such as an emerging swine disease or an emerging swine health issue.
SHIC’s activities are guided by the Plan of Work while the organization remains nimble and responsive to industry needs as they arise throughout the year. Stakeholder input and ideas are welcomed year-round to address newly identified needs which may necessitate adapting the Plan of Work to fulfill SHIC’s mission on emerging diseases.
SHIC has recently funded nine new projects addressing research priorities and topics that were published in its 2024 Plan of Work. These nine projects were initiated in summer 2024 and are six to 12 months in duration. Research outcomes from SHIC’s funded projects will provide critical information and resources to help pork producers as they face emerging disease challenges in their swine herds.
Newly funded projects addressing SHIC’s research priorities include:
- disease spillover risks from wean-to-market pigs to sow herds
- whole genome sequencing as a forensic diagnostic tool
- pathogenesis and interpretation of test results for porcine circoviruses
- early disease outbreak warning signals
- population-based sample types for emerging disease testing
- domestic disease monitoring for bacterial pathogens
- clinical relevance of newly identified agents or syndromes from veterinary diagnostic lab submissions
- informing the swine disease matrices to prioritize pathogens for research and diagnostics
Funding timely research is an essential component of SHIC providing project outcomes that drive action for emerging disease prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response for the US swine industry.
The Swine Health Information Center, launched in 2015 with Pork Checkoff funding, protects and enhances the health of the US swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communications, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data, and targeted research investments. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Megan Niederwerder at mniederwerder@swinehealth.org or Dr. Lisa Becton at lbecton@swinehealth.org.