Dr. Andrew Bowman has moved to Columbus, Ohio to pursue a PhD at The Ohio State University. The focus of his studies will be influenza type A. He was formerly employed at York Animal Hospital in Bellevue, Ohio. Updated contact information for Dr. Bowman is available at http://www.aasv.org/members/only/directory.php. Are you on the move? If so, let us know at aasv@aasv.org.
Monthly Archives: August 2010
People on the Move: Dr. Jess Waddell
Dr. Jess Waddell has joined Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica in Regional Centre Vienna in Austria. He will serve as Technical Manager Swine in Central and Eastern Europe and Austria, currently consisting of 16 countries in total. Dr. Waddell is a graduate of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Updated contact information for Dr. Waddell is available at http://www.aasv.org/members/only/directory.php. Are you on the move? If so, let us know at aasv@aasv.org.
“Swine Practitioners, please participate in survey: “”Monitoring Time to PRRS Virus Negative Pigs”””
Are you a North American veterinarian providing services to swine producers (either as a private practitioner or through employment with a production company)? My name is Jonathan Tangen and I am a second year veterinary student at Iowa State University. This summer I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Derald Holtkamp along with several other veterinarians. I invite you to participate in the brief survey described below, which will support my research project that I plan to submit for the AASV student competition.
Dr. Gregg BeVier to present Distinguished Lecture in conjunction with Leman Conference
Dr. Gregg BeVier, senior program officer of agricultural development for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will present the Distinguished Lecture, “Bringing Prosperity to the Smallholder African Farmer through Livestock,” during the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine’s 37th annual Allen D. Leman Swine Conference. The free lecture is open to the public and will be held Tuesday, September 21, at noon at Saint Paul RiverCentre. For more information and to register for the event go to http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vetmedce/events/adl/bevier/home.html.
CAST Food-Animal Agriculture Symposium Proceedings Online
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology’s (CAST) Food Animal Agriculture Symposium was held earlier this summer in Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. Thirty-two presenters, speaking individually or as panelists, addressed the topic of “Sustaining Animal Agriculture: Balancing Bioethical, Economic, and Social Issues.”
Freshman and Sophomore Veterinary Students: Apply for NPIF Veterinary Internship Stipend
Now in its third year, the National Pork Industry Foundation (NPIF) Veterinary Internship Program is providing funding for six freshman and sophomore veterinary students in the United States to gain experience in the swine industry via a mentoring program that includes a one-month summer internship with a swine practitioner. Grant recipients are also encouraged to attend the AASV 2011 Annual Meeting and the 2011 Leman Conference, and must submit a written summary and evaluation of their experiences upon completion of the program. Each of the six selected students receives a stipend of $3300 to defray the cost of participating in the internship. Complete details and the application are available on the AASV Web site at http://www.aasv.org/students/npif.php. Applications are due October 29, 2010. The AASV Student Recruitment Committee coordinates the selection of the grant recipients. Funding for the program is administered by the AASV Foundation.
Request for Proposals Now Open for Third-Party PQA Plus Verifiers
The National Pork Board is soliciting proposals from qualified independent organizations to perform a third-party verification of the Pork Checkoff’s Pork Quality Assurance Plus® program. The objectives of this effort are to measure the effectiveness of the PQA Plus program and the level of implementation of the care and well-being principles defined in PQA Plus. The results of the verification will be used in aggregate to identify areas of animal care that may require additional education and training as well as areas of the program that need additional improvement.
2010 International PRRS Symposium – Abstract Deadline
Registration and abstract submission are open for the 2010 International PRRS Symposium. Deadline for abstract submission is August 25, 2010. http://www.prrssymposium.org
AASV Submits Comments on VFD Rule
The AASV has submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration regarding a request from the agency for information relating to the veterinary feed directive (VFD).
Longitudinal Investigation of Clostridium difficile Shedding in Piglets
A longitudinal study of Clostridium difficile colonization in piglets was performed on a conventional swine farm in Ontario, Canada. Fecal samples were collected from 10 sows prior to their expected farrowing date, and then from all their piglets on days 2, 7, 30, 44 and 62 of life. C. difficile was isolated from 4/10 (40%) of sows prior to farrowing, 90/121 (74%) piglets on day 2, 66/117 (56%) on day 7, 45/113 (40%) on day 30, 23/101 (23%) on day 44 and 2/54 (3.7%) on day 62. There was a significant decrease in colonization over time (P < 0.0001). Overall, C. difficile was isolated from one or more samples from 116/121 (96%) piglets. There was an inverse association between sow colonization and piglet colonization on day 2 (P < 0.0001) and a positive association on day 7 (P = 0.001). Ribotype 078/toxinotype V predominated, accounting for 213/234 (91%) isolates. A toxinotype XIV strain that has been previously found in humans in the province was the 2nd most common, but was mainly found in sows, not piglets. Overall, 227/234 (97%) of isolates were from types that have been isolated from humans in the province. Intermittent colonization was detected in 11 (9.6%) piglets. The decline in C. difficile colonization over the first 2 months of life was remarkable. The variation in colonization over a relatively short period of time has important implications for the design and interpretation of studies evaluating C. difficile colonization in pigs, since relatively small differences in age may have a major confounding effect on the prevalence of colonization. The decline in prevalence over time may also have implications on public health concerns, since colonization rates of animals at the time of slaughter are presumably more relevant than those earlier in life.