During the 2023 NAPRRS/NC229 International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases (ICSVD), the Swine Health Information Center will present a special session, “Biosecurity in the US Swine Industry.” SHIC invited four principal investigators of projects funded through its Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program to speak. The presenters for the session will be introduced by SHIC Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg. Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder will start the session by sharing the rationale for the research program and its related efforts to help producers fill this biosecurity gap.
Author Archives: Paul Sundberg
SHIC/AASV Webinar: Strep zooepidemicus Experiences – November 29
Until September and October 2019, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus had only been reported as causing disease in pigs in Asia. The first US cases with significant mortalities were reported in Ohio and Tennessee in 2019 with subsequent identification in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Now, with a series of very severe S. zoo outbreaks in Canada, the Swine Health Information Center and American Association of Swine Veterinarians will host a webinar on S. zoo on November 29, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 pm CST with US and Canadian experts.
SHIC/AASV Webinar: Strep zooepidemicus Experiences – November 29
Until September and October 2019, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus had only been reported as causing disease in pigs in Asia. The first US cases with significant mortalities were reported in Ohio and Tennessee in 2019 with subsequent identification in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Now, with a series of very severe S. zoo outbreaks in Canada, the Swine Health Information Center and American Association of Swine Veterinarians will host a webinar on S. zoo on November 29, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 pm CST with US and Canadian experts.
REMINDER: SHIC Seeks Input for 2024 Plan of Work
The opportunity to provide input for the Swine Health Information Center’s 2024 Plan of Work remains open until November 10, 2023. Input may include topic areas, research priorities, and identified industry needs in which SHIC should focus efforts, such as an emerging swine disease or an emerging swine health issue. SHIC’s Plan of Work helps guide activities for the coming year across five strategic priorities, including improving swine health information, monitoring and mitigating risks to swine health, responding to emerging disease, surveillance and discovery of emerging disease, and swine disease matrices. Input across all five areas is welcomed and encouraged.
Potential for JEV in US Leads to USDA Statement on Preparedness and Testing
The US swine industry, including the Swine Health Information Center, continues to prepare for the possible incursion of Japanese encephalitis virus in pigs. The threat of JEV has prompted the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services division to issue a statement regarding related testing and preparedness. The statement also addresses the diagnostic submission process and USDA plans for further preparedness activities.
SHIC/AASV Webinar: Strep zooepidemicus Experiences – November 29
Until September and October 2019, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus had only been reported as causing disease in pigs in Asia. The first US cases with significant mortalities were reported in Ohio and Tennessee in 2019 with subsequent identification in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Now, with a series of very severe S. zoo outbreaks in Canada, the Swine Health Information Center and American Association of Swine Veterinarians will host a webinar on S. zoo on November 29, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 pm CST with US and Canadian experts.
SHIC-Directed ASF Research Projects in Vietnam Successfully Closed
In 2019, the Swine Health Information Center, with support from the National Pork Producers Council, received a grant from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service division to fund a multi-phase project including African swine fever field projects in Vietnam. Results of this now completed work help inform prevention and preparedness efforts for US pork producers and practitioners while also helping inform response and recovery efforts for the ASF epidemic in Vietnam.
SHIC-Sponsored JEV Information Sharing Website Now Available
The potential for Japanese encephalitis virus introduction, establishment, and spread in the US continues to drive emerging disease prevention and preparedness activities by the Swine Health Information Center and other stakeholders. Following SHIC’s October 2022 symposium, “Japanese Encephalitis Virus: Emerging Global Threat to Humans & Livestock,” hosted by the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia, development of a Japanese encephalitis informational website was identified as a priority action item. The site, developed by CEID and sponsored by SHIC, is now live and can be found at JEVISN.org.
SHIC Pursues Diagnostic Test Capable of Detecting Multiple Swine Viruses Simultaneously from Field Samples
Researchers Drs. Noelle Noyes, Montserrat Torremorell, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota developed a workflow called TELSVirus, or Target-Enriched Long-Read Sequencing of Virus, that enables the real-time detection and genomic characterization of multiple viral pathogens from a single sample in a relatively short turnaround time (approximately 24 hours). As part of a SHIC-funded study, the researchers’ main objective was to apply the TELSVirus workflow to porcine oral fluid samples to detect and characterize genomes of target viral pathogens.
SHIC Seeks Input for 2024 Plan of Work
The Swine Health Information Center is currently requesting input for its 2024 Plan of Work from all stakeholders across the swine industry.