AASV News (Jul-Aug 2013)
Thanks very much to Seminar Chair Dr Jay Miller and the speakers for providing this resource to the entire membership; it’s the next best thing to being there! Presentations include the following.
• Collecting diagnostics on the fly – Kelly Greiner
• Placental cord blood collection as a substitute for pre-suckle blood samples – David A. Baumert
• Finding a needle in a hogstack – Lori Feldmann
• Put the cart before the pig – Melissa Farber Billing
• Periorbital blood draw from pre-wean pigs – Monte W. Fuhrman
• Implementing a successful student externship/internship program – Adam Schelkopf
• A potpourri of practical ideas for pig vets – Jeff Harker
• The seven traits of highly successful swine veterinarians – Scott Stehlik
• Chasing lame finishing pigs – Jerry Torrison
• Unexpected results – unexpected reason – Bill DuBois
Also available online are additional podcasts and video presentations from the AASV Annual Meeting. If you weren’t able to attend, or just want to take a second look, visit the Resources tab on the AASV Web site (https://www.aasv.org).
Volunteer for APHIS National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps
In 2001, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service established the National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps (NAHERC) to respond to exotic disease outbreaks and other disasters that affect livestock, poultry, and companion animals. The NAHERC is a group of “reserve” veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary students who are willing to take time from their private practices or studies to volunteer for deployment as temporary federal employees in response to animal health emergencies. Consider volunteering to join the NAHERC!
Apply today:
• Veterinarians: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/332776200
• Animal Health Technicians and Veterinary Students: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/332757000
All applicants must be United States citizens and meet educational and other application requirements. For more information, visit the NAHERC Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/emergency_management/naherc.shtml.
Call for submissions – Industrial Partners
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians invites submissions for the Industrial Partners portion of the 45th AASV Annual Meeting, to be held March 1-4, 2014, in Dallas, Texas. This is an opportunity for commercial companies to make brief presentations of a technical, educational nature to members of the AASV.
As in the past, the oral sessions will consist of a series of 15-minute presentations scheduled from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, March 2. A poster session will take place on the same day. Poster authors will be required to be stationed with their poster from 12:00 noon until 1:00 pm, and the posters will remain on display throughout the afternoon and the following day for viewing by meeting attendees.
Restricted program space necessitates a limit on the number of presentations per company. Companies that are members of the Journal of Swine Health and Production Industry Support Council (listed on the back cover of each issue of the journal) may submit two topics for oral presentation. All other companies may submit one topic for oral presentation. Each company may also submit one topic for poster presentation (poster topics may not duplicate oral presentations). All topics must represent information not previously presented at the AASV Annual Meeting or published in the meeting proceedings.
Topic titles, a brief description of the presentation content, and presenter information (name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address) must be received in the AASV office by October 1, 2013. Please identify whether the submission is intended for oral or poster presentation. Send submissions via mail, fax, OR e-mail to Commercial Sessions, AASV, 830 26th Street, Perry, IA 50220-2328; Fax: 515-465-832; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org.
Authors will be notified of their acceptance by October 15, 2013, and must submit the paper for publication in the meeting proceedings by November 15, 2013. All presentations – oral and poster – will be published in the proceedings of the meeting. Papers for poster presentations are limited to one page of text plus one table or figure. Papers for oral presentations may be up to five pages in length (including tables and figures) when formatted according to the guidelines provided to authors upon acceptance of their presentations. Companies failing to submit papers in a timely manner will not be eligible for future participation in these sessions.
Call for papers – AASV 2014 Student Seminar
Veterinary Student Scholarships
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians announces an opportunity for veterinary students to make a scientific presentation at the AASV Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, March 2, 2014. Interested students are invited to submit a one-page abstract of a research paper, clinical case study, or literature review for consideration. The submitting student must be a current (2013-2014) student member of the AASV at the time of submission and must not have graduated from veterinary school prior to March 2, 2014. Submissions are limited to one (1) abstract per student.
Abstracts and supplementary materials must be received by Dr Alex Ramirez (alex@aasv.org) by 11:59 pm Central Daylight Time on Monday, September 23, 2013 (firm deadline). All material must be submitted electronically. Late abstracts will not be considered. You should receive an e-mail confirming the receipt of your submission. If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, you must contact Dr Alex Ramirez (alex@aasv.org) by Wednesday September 25, 2013, with supporting evidence that the submission was made in time; otherwise your submission will not be considered for judging. The abstracts will be reviewed by an unbiased professional panel consisting of a private practitioner, an academician, and an industry veterinarian. Fifteen abstracts will be selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar at the AASV Annual Meeting. Students whose papers are selected will be notified by October 15, 2013, and will be expected to provide the complete paper or abstract, reformatted for publication, by November 15, 2013.
To help defray the costs of attending the AASV meeting, Zoetis provides a $750 honorarium to the student presenter of each paper selected for oral presentation during the Student Seminar.
Each veterinary student whose paper is selected for oral presentation also competes for one of several veterinary student scholarships awarded through the AASV Foundation. The oral presentations will be judged to determine the amount of the scholarship awarded. Zoetis funds a $5000 scholarship for the student whose paper, oral presentation, and supporting information are judged best overall. Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, on behalf of Elanco Animal Health, provides $20,000 in additional funding, enabling the AASV Foundation to award $2500 each for 2nd through 5th place, $1500 each for 6th through 10th place, and $500 each for 11th through 15th place.
Abstracts that are not selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar will be considered for participation in a poster session at the annual meeting. Zoetis and the AASV fund a stipend of $250 for each student who is selected and participates in the poster competition. In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc provides financial support for the Veterinary Student Poster Competition. The presenters of the top 15 poster abstracts compete for awards ranging from $200 to $500.
Complete information for preparing and submitting abstracts is available on the AASV Web site at https://www.aasv.org/annmtg/2014/studentseminar.php. Please note: the rules for submission should be followed carefully. For more information, contact the AASV office (Tel: 515-465-5255; Fax: 515-465-3832; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org).
To promote animal welfare on modern farms, 12 veterinarians from 10 states host film crews
In new YouTube videos, swine veterinarians Dr Matthew Turner of North Carolina and Dr Tara Donovan of Wisconsin join veterinarians and farmers from across the country in speaking out for responsible livestock farming by hosting a film crew to document their work. They are among 12 veterinarians who demonstrate modern animal wellness practices on dozens of US farms and ranches in the YouTube reality series “Veterinarians On Call,” at http://www.youtube.com/vetsoncall.
“Veterinarians On Call,” presented by animal-health company Zoetis, shows the public that regardless of the size of a farm, farmers and ranchers benefit from raising animals in the most comfortable, stress-free conditions and housing. Doing so avoids disease, saves money on care, and keeps animals growing at proper weight until ready for market. In other words, it would be a risk and counter-productive to their businesses if farmers raised stressed, underweight animals.
Source: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/04/5233564/to-promote-animal-welfare-on-modern.html.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Wisconsin Pork Association work together to control PRRS
Wisconsin now requires a disclosure of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) status of swine as part of the import-permit process. The new disclosure requirement, which became effective March 1, comes as a result of a 20-month initiative by the Wisconsin Pork Association’s PRRS Committee to control the spread of the disease. Disclosure is made on the Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) and the importpermit application, which are submitted and reviewed before a permit is issued.
Wisconsin Pork Association (WPA) believes the incidence of PRRS in Wisconsin is low compared to that in other hog-dense states, which makes it even more important to keep the disease out of Wisconsin. While vaccines may limit effects of PRRS, they are not 100% effective. Therefore, the WPA also recommends taking extra biosecurity steps to reduce the chance of spreading the disease. These steps include controlling movement of both swine and people, monitoring vehicle access to farms, and working with veterinarians and neighbors to control further spread.
To apply, the importer or veterinarian must fill out the swine-only import-permit application form found at http://animalmovement.datcp.wi.gov and send it along with the CVI to datcpanimalimports@wi.gov or fax to 608-224-4871. A department veterinarian will review the application and CVI for the correct statement disclosing the PRRS status, as well as correct official identification. Once approved, the permit number will be faxed back. The permit number should then be written on all copies of the CVI. This service is available 8:00 am to 4:15 pm Monday through Friday. Permits are not issued after hours or on weekends or holidays; however, blanket permits can be issued ahead of time for weekend sales. Call 608-224-4874 for more information.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Call for Abstracts – Research Topics Session
Plans are underway for the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) to take place in Dallas, Texas, on March 1-4, 2014. As part of the meeting, there will be a session highlighting research projects related to swine health and production. Abstracts are now being accepted for potential presentation during the Research Topics session.
Those interested in making a 15-minute oral presentation should submit a one-page abstract on applied research related to swine health and production issues (virology, bacteriology, parasitology, environment, food safety, odor, welfare, etc) to the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, 830 26th Street, Perry, IA 50220-2328; Fax: 515- 465-3832; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org.
Please include the presenting author’s name, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address with each submission. Submissions may be e-mailed, faxed, or mailed to arrive in the AASV office by August 15, 2013.
Authors of abstracts selected for presentation will be notified by October 1, and must provide their complete paper, formatted for publication in the meeting proceedings, by November 15, 2013.
PLEASE NOTE: Participation in the Research Topics session is at the speaker’s expense. The speaker is required to register for the meeting (participants may register at the AASV regular member rate). No speaking stipend or travel expense reimbursement is paid by the AASV.
APHIS reopens comment period for swine brucellosis and pseudorabies proposed action plan
Veterinary Services is reopening the comment period on the concept paper for A New Approach for Managing Swine Brucellosis and Pseudorabies Virus to allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments. The concept paper describes our current thinking about changes we are considering for the pseudorabies and swine brucellosis programs. (The concept paper can be found by viewing the regulations.gov Web site as described in the Federal Register notice or by viewing http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/swine/). Stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments before the closing period expires on July 22, 2013. All comments submitted through closing will be considered.
You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0086-0001.
Postal mail/commercial delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010–0086, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.
Supporting documents and any comments received on this docket may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0086 or in the APHIS reading room, located in Room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except holidays. Please call 202-799-7039 before visiting the reading room.
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus detected in the United States
On May 16, 2013, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, in close collaboration with Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU-VDL), reported that porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus has been detected in the United States. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus is a coronavirus associated with outbreaks of diarrhea and vomiting in swine. Prior vaccination for transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE), or presumably prior exposure to TGE or respiratory coronavirus, does not infer protection against PED virus. It is not a zoonotic disease, does not affect people, and is not a food-safety concern. Although this is the first known detection in the United States, PED exists in many parts of the world and is not considered a foreign animal disease in the United States, but rather a transboundary disease.
We are in contact with the United States Department of Agriculture, state animal-health officials, National Pork Board, and National Pork Producers Council. The federal and state animal officials are monitoring the situation. Development of an epidemiological survey instrument has begun. It is expected that herd veterinarians will be actively involved in the information gathering.
Veterinarians should contact a veterinary diagnostic laboratory to determine what samples are preferred for that laboratory. The ISU-VDL (http://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdpam/disease-topics/porcine-epidemic-diarrhea-ped-diagnostic-testing) is well prepared to diagnose PED and other diseases that may mimic PED. Currently, testing capacity to detect PED virus is limited, so turn-around times on testing will be slower than typical for routine testing at ISU-VDL. However, high capacity PED virus tests are currently being developed and will soon be implemented. In general, desired samples are live pigs in acute stages of disease, several segments of fresh and formalin-fixed small intestine and colon from several pigs euthanized in the acute stage of disease, fresh feces from acutely affected pigs, and tissue from a variety of other organs as appropriate.
We have posted a short fact sheet about the disease (including links to pertinent publications) on the AASV website (https://www.aasv.org/aasv%20website/Resources/Diseases/PEDAASVQuickFacts.pdf) and an update on detection in the United States (https://www.aasv.org/members/only/PED/PEDDetectioninUSSwine05172013.pdf).