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SHIC Study Assesses Tools for Mitigation of FAD Introduction and Transmission in Feed

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) recognizes the potential risk of feed as a route for introduction and transmission of transboundary animal diseases. Understanding the risk and mitigation of other foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever virus (ASFV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) in feed and feed ingredients is critical to protecting the health of the US swine herd. SHIC funded a study at Kansas State University to identify animal feed ingredients which support survival of CSFV and PRV exposed to transpacific shipment conditions, improve the half-life calculations of ASFV in feed ingredients exposed to transatlantic shipment conditions, and investigate antiviral chemical mitigants as a tool for reducing the risk of introduction and transmission of CSFV, ASFV and PRV in feed and feed ingredients. Improved ASFV half-life estimates in feed ingredients were calculated to include both standard error and 95% confidence intervals. Additionally, antiviral chemical mitigants were tested for efficacy against foreign animal diseases in in vitro cell culture models and transboundary shipping models. Overall, this research has improved our ability to quantify risk of CSFV and PRV in feed, implement science-based storage times for ASFV in feed, and identify effective feed additives for risk mitigation of foreign animal diseases through feed.

SHIC Project Enables FMDV ELISA for Swine Oral Fluid Specimens

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) remains uncontrolled in most of the world. North America is among the few “FMDV-free without vaccination” areas of the world. In the event of an FMDV outbreak in North America, effective control and elimination will require rapid detection. And rapid detection will rely on an efficient surveillance sampling technology and immediate access to accurate diagnostic assays. Consequently, the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) funded a project at Iowa State University with the long-term objective of creating an FMD 3ABC antibody indirect ELISA (iELISA) for use with swine oral fluids.

SHIC Receives USDA Grant to Open ASF Dialogue and Research in Asia

A grant recently awarded to the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), with active support from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), aims to start a dialogue between the US and Vietnamese officials, sharing veterinary knowledge and ways to prevent African swine fever (ASF) from further spreading. The approximately $1.7 million grant from the USDA’s Foreign Animal Service division will fund the multi-phase project, helping to build strategic partnerships while increasing trade of US pork to the region. The work will include swine health field projects, including collection and analysis of disease samples, which will help inform North American pork producers about effective ASF preparedness and response.

SHIC Gathers International Swine Disease Intel

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) engages in ongoing global pig disease status monitoring including review of Great Britain’s Disease Surveillance and Emerging Threats report as well as the Canadian Community for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (CEZD) Weekly Intelligence Report. Great Britain’s quarterly report reviews disease trends and threats facing their national herd, intended to inform government, the veterinary profession, and farmers. Data for this report is collected by Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) as well as Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) Veterinary Services Division along with other contributors in their Pig Expert Group networks. CEZD is a virtual network combining automated information-mining tool data with multidisciplinary analytical capability by experts. CEZD’s automated system collects and filters disease signals from 21 news sources which are then reviewed by experts before distribution including analysis.

SHIC Renews Popular Global Swine Disease Monitoring Report

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) Global Swine Disease Monitoring Report facilitates near real-time identification of hazards posing risks to the domestic pork industry. Being able to access accurate and reviewed information quickly is important to producers and the industry as a whole, according to the SHIC Monitoring and Analysis Working Group in their support of continued funding of the program. Compiled by staff at the University of Minnesota, the report is posted on the SHIC website and included its monthly enewsletter, always ranking as one of the most read articles.

SHIC-Funded Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Program Presented for Veterinary Diagnosticians’ Input

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) initiated a veterinary diagnostic lab (VDL) data standardization project in 2017 and from there a regular Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report was developed, published monthly beginning in March 2018. The program’s principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Linhares, and project coordinator, Dr. Giovani Trevisan, both from Iowa State University, continually seek input from stakeholders to improve both process and deliverables. This October, Dr. Trevisan will give an oral presentation on the Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report during the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, with this as the goal. His presentation, and resulting feedback, will help make the SHIC-funded program stronger and more useful to producers, enhancing the on-going investment by SHIC as well as equipping the swine industry with important disease monitoring information. By instigating this porcine-focused project, SHIC is also providing an example of progressive programming for other commodities to consider.

Jeremy Pittman, DVM, Joins SHIC Board of Directors

Jeremy Pittman, DVM, has joined the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) Board of Directors. Dr. Pittman is a staff veterinarian for Smithfield Hog Production – North Region. His responsibilities include oversight on 133,000 sows farrow-to-finish in North Carolina and Virginia. He also serves on the Smithfield Science and Technology Committee. Dr. Pittman assumes the seat previously held by Dr. Mike Terrill, CEO of Topigs Norsvin Americas, who resigned after four years of service on the SHIC Board of Directors. In accepting the SHIC Board seat, Dr. Pittman observed, “SHIC continues to emphasize and support communication, knowledge, and development in areas that affect the entire swine industry that may otherwise not be highlighted through normal channels.”

Second SHIC-Sponsored Workshop Addresses Soybean Supply Chain and ASF Feed Risk

In April, the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) joined with the University of Minnesota (UMN) to sponsor a workshop to increase understanding of the vitamin supply chain and identify potential risk factors for introducing African swine fever (ASF) and other foreign animal disease (FAD) to the US. Taking the next step last week, SHIC and UMN brought together soybean industry stakeholders for a similar event. Presenters and discussion focused on potential risk factors of soybeans and related products, such as soybean meal, as vectors for ASF and FAD transmission. Prevention, mitigation, and differentiation strategies, along with research and education were discussed. At the workshop’s conclusion, participants were asked to prioritize the three top actions they believed should occur. Those responses were analyzed with mitigation strategies and processes being the top collective priority followed by communication, education, and collaboration, then importer outreach and communication, import biosecurity protocols, virus testing and sampling, surrogate model validation, and risk assessment for ASF.

SHIC Research Enables Response Should APPV Become an Emerging Disease

Dr. Bailey Arruda of Iowa State University recently completed Swine Health Information Center-funded research on development and evaluation of a dual matrix serum/oral fluid atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) ELISA using known status samples. As part of its mission to protect the health of the US swine herd, SHIC funded this research to provide tools for an emerging disease which has not affected domestic pigs significantly though it presents potential for concern. APPV is the most common cause of congenital tremor (CT) in pigs. This is the first study to experimentally infect swine with APPV and monitor the infection dynamics over time out to 70 days post inoculation (DPI). There is limited information concerning the ecology, epidemiology, and pathophysiology of APPV. Currently, there is no available serologic assay to evaluate the immunity of a dam or herd. Such an assay would provide meaningful information to assess the effectiveness of preventative measures such as acclimation and vaccination as well as improve our understating of the infection dynamics and herd impact of APPV.

SHIC-Sponsored Workshop Considers Vitamin Supply Chain and Disease Risk

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) joined with the University of Minnesota to sponsor a workshop on April 29, 2019, to increase understanding of the vitamin supply chain and identify potential risk factors for introducing foreign animal disease (FAD) to the US. Within the vitamin supply chain meeting report, authors Dr. Gerald Shurson and Dr. Pedro Urriola of the University of Minnesota describe current industry understanding of vitamin manufacturing, transport, and vitamin premix composition/manufacturing processes as well as quality assurance and biosecurity programs. They address the pork producers’ need to select reputable suppliers for all feed ingredients and describe the challenges of potential mitigation procedures for vitamin products and premixes. The vitamin supply chain report also includes a detailed listing of vitamin manufacturers in China and their web sites as well details on biosecurity procedures and third-party audits of many of these facilities.