On January 3, 2018, an ad hoc group of representatives from the National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, Swine Health Information Center, and American Association of Swine Veterinarians met to discuss the role of information technology (IT) in swine health. Invitees included Drs Lisa Becton (NPB), Tom Burkgren (AASV), Maryn Ptaschinski (practitioners/producers), Harry Snelson (AASV), Paul Sundberg (SHIC), Liz Wagstrom (NPPC), and Patrick Webb (NPB). The group discussed the potential impact of improved IT on the swine health concerns facing the constituents of each organization.

Producers and veterinarians have recognized the need for herd health information at the farm, regional, and national level. Recent disease challenges have increased interest in data analysis and the capability to efficiently share data on a permissioned basis. Technology now exists to enable and enhance those capabilities. In addition, state and federal animal health officials concede the need for electronic data transfer to maintain business continuity during animal health emergencies and for routine disease control programs. Improved communication technologies facilitate efforts to monitor global emerging disease challenges and raise awareness of impending threats. The veterinary diagnostic laboratories have also responded to IT concerns by working to standardize the reporting of diagnostic results.

There was also recognition by the group that stakeholders utilize data differently. Some want access to data in a manner that allows them to perform their own analysis and answer specific questions. Others are content to have a third party collect and analyze the data and provide them with routine or specialized reports of the analysis. The industry’s IT solution should effectively address both scenarios to promote widespread benefit.

The group identified several areas that would benefit from a robust IT infrastructure. While the group recognized the myriad of independent efforts to address IT challenges within the industry, it was evident that there is currently no unified strategy to promote IT advances and their adoption. It was the consensus of the group that an effective coordinated IT strategy is necessary to, among other things:

• promote continuous improvement;
• facilitate the identification of swine health trends and emerging diseases;
• enable business continuity during animal health emergencies;
• enhance disease prevention, response, and recovery;
• promote trade; and
• promote permissioned data sharing within the industry and to external stakeholders when appropriate.

To this end, it was the consensus of the participants representing all four allied groups that a structured, coordinated IT strategy should be a priority for the swine industry. The group formulated the following position statement, which has been adopted by all four organizations.

Position statement

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and Swine Health Information Center recognize the importance of information technology and its impact on all aspects of pork production, especially swine health, production, and well-being. The industry recognizes the need to prioritize the adoption of a strategy to coordinate and direct the development of information technologies to address current and future industry needs, with the goal of promoting continuous improvement within the industry.

AASV Annual Meeting call for abstracts – Research Topics Session

Plans are underway for the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), to take place March 9-12, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 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, which will be held Sunday, March 10th.

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, 2018. 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 formatted paper by November 15, 2018 for publication in the meeting proceedings.

PLEASE NOTE: Participation in the Research Topics oral and poster sessions 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.

Call for submissions – Industrial Partners

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians invites submissions for the Industrial Partners oral and poster sessions at the 50th AASV Annual Meeting. This is an opportunity for commercial companies to make brief presentations of a technical, educational nature to members of the AASV. The conference will be held March 9-12, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The oral sessions consist of a series of 15-minute presentations scheduled from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, March 10th. A poster session takes place the same day. Poster authors will be required to be stationed with their poster from noon until 1:00 pm, and posters will remain on display throughout the afternoon and the following day for viewing.

NEW THIS YEAR: All companies submitting topics for presentation during the Industrial Partners sessions must register to participate in the AASV Technical Tables Exhibit before October 1st (see aasv.org/annmtg/2019/techinfo.htm).

Restricted program space necessitates a limit on the number of presentations per company. Companies that are a member of the Journal of Swine Health and Production Industry Support Council and sponsor the AASV e-Letter may submit three topics for oral presentation. Companies that are either a member of the JSHAP Industry Support Council or sponsor the AASV e-Letter may submit two topics. All other companies may submit one topic for oral presentation. In addition, every company may submit one topic for poster presentation but the topic must not duplicate the oral presentation. All topics must represent information not previously presented at the AASV annual meeting or published in the meeting proceedings.

To participate, send the following information to aasv@aasv.org by October 1, 2018:

1) Company name 2) Presentation title 3) Brief description of presentation content 4) Presenter name and contact details (mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail) 5) Whether the submission is intended for oral or poster presentation

Receipt of submissions will be confirmed by email. Presenters will be notified of their acceptance by October 15th and must submit a paper by November 15th for publication in the meeting proceedings. Failure to submit the paper in a timely manner will jeopardize the company’s future participation in these sessions.

All presenters are required to register for the meeting either as a Tech Table representative or as an individual registrant (nonmember oral and poster presenters may register at the AASV regular member rate). AASV does not provide a speaking stipend or travel reimbursement to Industrial Partners presenters.

Call for abstracts – Student Seminar

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians announces an opportunity for veterinary students to make a scientific presentation at the 50th AASV Annual Meeting in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. 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 (2018-2019) student member of the AASV at the time of submission and must not have graduated from veterinary school prior to March 10, 2019. Submissions are limited to one (1) abstract per student.

Abstract submission process

Abstracts and supporting information must be submitted online at aasv2019.exordo.com (see www.aasv.org/annmtg/2019/studentseminar.htm for details). Submissions must be completed before 11:59 pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday, September 19, 2018. Late submissions will not be considered.

Students will receive an email from Ex Ordo confirming receipt of their submission. If they do not receive this confirmation email, they must contact Dr Andrew Bowman by Friday, September 21, 2018 with supporting evidence that the submission was made in time; otherwise the abstract will not be considered for judging.

Abstracts will be reviewed by an unbiased, professional panel consisting of private practitioners, academicians, and industry veterinarians. Fifteen abstracts will be selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar at the AASV Annual Meeting. Students will be notified by October 15, 2018, and those selected to participate will be expected to provide the complete paper or abstract formatted for publication by November 15, 2018.

Student Seminar and Scholarships

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 students whose papers are selected for oral presentation also compete for one of several 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. Elanco Animal Health provides $20,000 in additional funding enabling the AASV Foundation to award scholarships of $2500 each for 2nd through 5th place, $1500 each for 6th through 10th place, and $500 each for 11th through 15th place.

Student Poster Session

Abstracts that are not selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar will be considered for presentation in a poster session at the annual meeting. Zoetis, sponsor of the Student Poster Session, has joined with AASV to fund a $250 stipend for each student poster presenter who personally attends the meeting to participate in the session. Those selected for poster presentation will also be expected to supply a formatted paper by November 15 for publication in the conference proceedings.

Veterinary Student Poster Competition

The presenters of the top fifteen poster abstracts compete for scholarship 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/2019/studentseminar.htm. The rules for submission should be followed carefully. For more information, contact the AASV office by phone, 515-465-5255, or e-mail, aasv@aasv.org.