AASV News (July 2016)
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Board of Directors addressed the issue of antibiotic-free production during their recent meeting in Perry, Iowa. Veterinarians serving on the association’s pig welfare and pharmaceutical issues committees raised concerns regarding pig health and well-being in antibiotic-free production systems. The committees considered issues associated with concerns that animals requiring antibiotics may not receive timely treatment under certain antibiotic-free production strategies.
The timely treatment of sick animals is a standard of proper animal husbandry promoted by veterinarians and supported by America’s swine farmers. Some antibiotic-free systems, however, do not provide marketing options for the animals that do need antibiotic treatment. This disincentive may lead to delayed treatment or the failure to treat altogether. Members of AASV consider this to be unacceptable from the standpoint of proper animal health and well-being.
Dr George Charbonneau, AASV president, commented that, “the AASV is committed to sustainable pork production. Maintaining the health and welfare of the pigs that are in our care is a top priority. We recognize there is a market for pork that is raised without antibiotics. It may be necessary, however, in any production system to provide timely and judicious antibiotic treatment in order to avoid animal suffering. Consequently, every antibiotic-free program should have the ability to sell antibiotic-treated pigs through an alternate market, following a safe withdrawal time.”
In response to these concerns, the AASV board adopted an official position statement (see sidebar) regarding raising pigs without antibiotics.
Call for submissions – Industrial Partners
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians invites submissions for the Industrial Partners portion of the 48th AASV Annual Meeting, to be held February 25 to 28, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. 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, February 26. 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. Sponsors of the AASV e-Letter may submit an additional topic for oral presentation. In addition, every company may submit one topic for poster presentation (poster topics must not duplicate oral presentations). All topics must represent information not previously presented at the AASV annual meeting or published in the meeting proceedings.
To participate, send 1) company name, 2) presentation title, 3) a brief description of the presentation content, and 4) contact information for the presenter (name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address) to AASV by September 30, 2016. Please identify whether the submission is intended for oral or poster presentation. Send submissions to aasv@aasv.org.
Presenters will be notified of their acceptance by October 14, 2016, and must submit a paper for publication in the meeting proceedings by November 15, 2016. Companies failing to submit papers in a timely manner may not be eligible for future participation in these sessions.
There is no charge for participation in the Industrial Partners sessions, but all presenters are required to register for the meeting (nonmember participants may register at the AASV regular member rate). The AASV does not provide a speaking stipend or travel reimbursement to Industrial Partners presenters.
Call for papers – AASV 2017 Student Seminar
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians announces an opportunity for veterinary students to make a scientific presentation during the Student Seminar at the AASV Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, February 26, 2017. 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 (2016-2017) student member of the AASV at the time of submission and must not have graduated from veterinary school prior to February 26, 2017. Submissions are limited to one (1) abstract per student.
Abstracts and supplementary materials must be received by Dr Maria Pieters (pieters@aasv.org) by 11:59 pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 (firm deadline). All material must be submitted electronically. Late abstracts will not be considered. Students will receive an e-mail confirming the receipt of their submission. If they do not receive this confirmation e-mail, they must contact Dr Maria Pieters (pieters@aasv.org) by Friday, September 23, 2016, with supporting evidence that the submission was made in time; otherwise, the 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 will be notified by October 14, 2016, and those selected to participate will be expected to provide the complete paper or abstract, reformatted for publication, by November 15, 2016.
As sponsor of the Student Seminar, Zoetis provides a total of $20,000 in support to fund travel stipends and the Top Student Presenter scholarship. The student presenter of each paper selected for oral presentation receives a $750 stipend to help defray the costs of attending the AASV meeting.
Veterinary Student Scholarships
Each veterinary student whose paper is selected for oral presentation 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 the $5000 scholarship for the student whose paper, oral presentation, and supporting information are judged best overall. 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 presentation. In addition, the presenters of the top 15 poster abstracts compete for awards ranging from $200 to $500 in the Veterinary Student Poster Competition sponsored by Newport Laboratories.
Complete information for preparing and submitting abstracts is available on the AASV Web site at www.aasv.org/annmtg/2017/studentseminar.htm. 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).
Call for abstracts – Research Topics session
Plans are underway for the 48th annual meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), to take place February 25 to 28, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. 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 aasv@aasv.org by August 15, 2016. Include the presenting author’s name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address with each submission.
Abstracts not selected for oral presentation will be considered for poster presentation. All submitting authors will be notified of the selection results in September. Authors of abstracts selected for oral or poster presentation must provide their paper, formatted for publication in the meeting proceedings, by November 15, 2016.
PLEASE NOTE: Participation in the Research Topics oral and poster session is at the presenter’s expense. The presenting author is required to register for the meeting (nonmember participants may register at the AASV regular member rate). No speaking stipend or travel expense reimbursement is paid by the AASV.