The development and use of a PRRS risk assessment tool (PRA) for evaluating breeding herd PRRS risks has been previously described (1). The PRA database has been descriptively summarized (2), has been used to benchmark individual herd and production system risks against a national database (3), and has been used to assess the relationships between external introduction risks and PRRS-negative herd status sustainability (4). Here we describe the use of the PRA as a tool for monitoring year-to-year changes in the risk profile of a large production system as well as to compare subsets of farms within that production system.
Monthly Archives: September 2008
AASV Foundation Announces Auction Chair
Dr. Warren Wilson has agreed to chair the 2009 AASV Foundation Auction Committee, accepting the reigns from Dr. Rodney Johnson.
Veterinary Students: Abstracts due this Friday, September 26 for Scholarship Competition
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians announces an opportunity for up to 15 veterinary students to make a scientific presentation and compete for scholarships during the Student Seminar at the AASV annual meeting on Sunday, March 8, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. Interested students are invited to submit a one-page abstract of a research paper, clinical case study, or literature review for consideration. Abstracts and supplementary materials must be received by Dr. Alex Ramirez (alex@aasv.org) by midnight on Friday, September 26, 2008 (firm deadline). All material must be submitted electronically. Late abstracts will not be considered. The abstracts will be reviewed by an unbiased, professional panel consisting of a private practitioner, an academician at a school from which no students have submitted an abstract, and an industry veterinarian. Students whose papers are selected for presentation at the meeting will be notified by October 15, 2008 and will be expected to provide the complete paper or abstract for publication by November 17, 2008.
AASV Industrial Partners submissions due October 1
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians invites submissions for the Industrial Partners portion of the 40th AASV Annual Meeting, to be held March 7-10, 2009, in Dallas, Texas. This is an opportunity for commercial companies to make brief presentations of a technical, educational nature to members of the AASV.
Nominate Outstanding Colleagues for AASV Awards
Do you know an AASV member whose dedication to the association and the swine industry is worthy of recognition? The AASV Awards Committee requests nominations for five awards to be presented at the upcoming AASV annual meeting in Dallas. The awards are:
Position Announcement: Team Leader – Swine
Pfizer Canada seeks a Team Leader – Swine [Chef d’équipe – Porcins (Français ci-dessous)].
Special Request for Proposals – PCVAD
The National Pork Board is sending out a special call for proposals for PCVAD. Even with the advent of current vaccines available for control of PCVAD, many unanswered questions still exist regarding immunology, epidemiology, and transmission of the disease. Please review the call for proposals for the description of targeted research.
APHIS Issues Interpretation on 30 Day Health Rule
Dr. John Clifford, Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, has issued a Veterinary Services Notice (VSN) clarifying the regulations governing the issuance of Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) covering weaned pigs born into herds participating in a routine herd health program.
Rodger Main, DVM, Honored for His Contributions to the Swine Industry
Rodger Main, DVM, of Ames, Iowa, was honored today with the Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and Pfizer Animal Health for his contributions to swine health management and best practices in the industry.
Lincomycin and Spectinomycin Concentrations in Liquid Swine Manure and Their Persistence During Simulated Manure Storage
Antimicrobials administered to livestock can be excreted up to 75% in the feces and urine. Liquid swine manure from confined animal feeding operations is generally retained in lagoon storage until it is applied as a nutrient source to crop and pasture land. Thus, the applied manure becomes a possible source of antimicrobials to aquatic ecosystems. In the prairie region of Canada, lincomycin and spectinomycin are two antimicrobials that are frequently administered to pigs for prevention of post-weaning diarrhea. In order to assess the potential for contamination of prairie wetlands, concentrations of both antimicrobials were monitored in liquid manure from a commercial-scale barn during a 5-week study, and their persistence during simulated manure storage was investigated. LC-MS/MS analysis of manure extracts showed that concentrations of lincomycin and spectinomycin in the accumulating liquid manure at the end of the study were equivalent to 32 and 3%, respectively, of the doses administered to weanling pigs in their feed. In a laboratory study in which lagoon storage was simulated at room temperature using fortified liquid manure, concentrations of both antimicrobials showed a rapid initial decrease during the first 6 days, followed by a much slower dissipation, over a period of 5 months. Such persistence indicates that lincomycin and spectinomycin may be present in lagoon manure when applied as an amendment to agricultural land since many lagoons are emptied every 6 months (early spring and late fall).