Category Archives: Animal Health

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, and Swine Health Information Center are asking for proposals to identify gaps in US pork industry national biosecurity that could result in the entry and domestic dissemination of diseases foreign to the US pork industry. This work will objectively prioritize those gaps based on their potential to result in the introduction and spread of swine diseases. The final report will be shared with state and federal animal health officials, pork producers, veterinarians and allied industries for actions needed to address the prioritized gaps.

Interspecies transmission of influenza A virus is believed to be a principal mechanism contributing to the emergence of novel influenza strains that pose a threat to human and swine health. While extensive education has been directed at swine producers, the AASV Influenza Committee would like to gauge swine veterinarians’ approach to limiting bidirectional influenza transmission and communicating the risk of such transmission. The committee would like to learn more about your thoughts and perceptions regarding the public health risk of swine lineage influenza, your recommendations to limit the transmission of disease between people and pigs, and your ability to access information regarding the virus and disease. This information will be used to direct future activities of the Influenza Committee.

USDA-APHIS Emergency Management has updated their list of disinfectants to include coronavirus EPA-registered disinfectants and disinfectants approved for use against African swine fever virus. This list can be found at USDA Disinfectants.

The CDC and AVMA have a collection of resources and answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and animals.

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, and Swine Health Information Center are asking for proposals to identify gaps in US pork industry national biosecurity that could result in the entry and domestic dissemination of diseases foreign to the US pork industry. This work will objectively prioritize those gaps based on their potential to result in the introduction and spread of swine diseases. The final report will be shared with state and federal animal health officials, pork producers, veterinarians and allied industries for actions needed to address the prioritized gaps.

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) posted an updated Diagnostic Assay Catalog on February 20, 2020. SHIC’s catalog provides diagnosticians with pertinent information about new and existing PCR and ELISA tests available, including confirmed contact information for the experts who developed the tests, allowing for questions about availability and use. The Diagnostic Assay Catalog includes six Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) in addition to 18 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Assays developed in response to SHIC’s prioritized Swine Viral Disease Matrix. These additional tools may provide means to uncover emerging diseases.

Psuedorabies virus (PRV) ranks fourth on the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) swine disease matrix due to the potential for introducing highly pathogenic PRV into the US from Asia, as well as its potential negative impact on exports. Improvements in PRV diagnostics, surveillance, control, and elimination remain relevant. A collaborative research project among the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and Iowa State University addressed the need for PRV PCRs for swine oral fluid.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome continues to challenge the swine industry in many ways. As an RNA virus, it is well-documented that this virus has the ability to change constantly. As these changes accumulate through time, viral diversity increases which in turn becomes a challenge for the pig as the immune system does not recognize the virus and thus, previously generated immunity will only protect partially. [Source: National Hog Farmer, 11 Feb 2020, by Sunil Mor and Albert Rovira, University of Minnesota]

Alternative pork production presents unique challenges for biosecurity. Niche, pasture pork, hoop barns, traditional pork or heritage breeds, are just a few examples of the alternative production methods highlighted in three new videos recently added to the Pork Information Gateway (PIG). [Source: Farm Journal’s Pork, 11 Feb 2020, by Jennifer Shike]

The Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) February Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report is available. In the February report, we learn porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) positive cases reported in January were down compared to December in all age groups and sample types. This data corresponds to the Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Program which reports a relatively low PRRS incidence in sow farms compared to previous years. The overall percentage of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) RNA positive cases in January was slightly up from December with increased detection observed in cases from Minnesota and North Carolina. The overall percentage of porcine deltacorona virus (PDCoV) positive cases in January was slightly down from December. Both PEDV and PDCoV RNA positive cases are within forecasted levels for this time of year. The overall percentage of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae positive cases in January was slightly up from December, mostly driven by samples with unknown information for age category.