Category Archives: Animal Health

The Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) March Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report is available.

As PRRSV strains continue to affect pork production in the US and around the world, SHIC and AASV held a webinar on February 21, 2023, to provide the latest information on challenges caused by emerging strains of this virus. Webinar presenters addressed the PRRSV L1C variant of RFLP 1-4-4 and PRRSV L1C 1-2-4 affecting the US swine population, and Rosalia, a PRRSV-1 strain with increased virulence affecting swine production in Spain. SHIC’s mission includes sharing global disease risk and perspectives like these surrounding PRRSV in the effort to safeguard US swine herd health.

Ten research projects have been funded as part of the Swine Health Information Center’s Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program in collaboration with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff. Each project is designed to achieve the objectives of cost-effective, innovative solutions for a significant biosecurity gap in U.S. swine production. Institutions receiving awards in this first round of funding are Iowa State University, Carthage Veterinary Service, North Carolina State University, the University of Minnesota, and Swine Vet Center. Real-time results of round one projects will be shared as quickly as they become available, and another planned proposal solicitation round will be coming soon to seek further projects addressing the research priorities identified by industry task forces.

In October 2022, the Swine Health Information Center joined with the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia to host a symposium entitled Japanese Encephalitis Virus: Emerging Global Threat to Humans & Livestock. One of the initiatives that came from the symposium was an agreement between SHIC and CEID to build and launch a JEV Information Sharing Network website. The objective is to have an immediate JEV information resource that can answer the pork industry’s initial questions and needs if JEV enters the US. Your input for content on the site is invited and welcomed.

A standardized outbreak investigation instrument has been developed in response to an industry need for a consistent tool for these efforts. Development of the instrument has been led by Dr. Derald Holtkamp, Iowa State University, and collaborators. Prompted and funded by the Swine Health Information Center, the new instrument is available for download and use from the SHIC website and a web-based version will be launched this spring.

The Swine Health Information Center’s 2023 Plan of Work was approved by the SHIC Board of Directors during their January 27, 2023, meeting. SHIC’s mission remains to protect and enhance the health of the United States swine herd; this annual review of projects and priorities directs actions for the upcoming year.

The Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) February Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report is available.

The U.S. livestock and food sectors account for more than $150 billion in annual cash receipts. It’s no wonder threats of foreign and emerging animal disease outbreaks are increasingly making headlines these days.

The Swine Health Information Center, along with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, joined together to fund and launch a two-year Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program in the summer of 2022. In October 2022, a call for research proposals was announced with the goal of investigating cost-effective, innovative technologies, protocols, or ideas to enhance biosecurity during the wean-to-harvest phases of production. By the submission deadline of December 16, 2022, significant interest in the Program resulted in SHIC receiving 41 proposal submissions. Review is now underway.

The Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) January Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report is available.