The annual election for AASV Vice President continues. The nominees are Drs. Doug Groth (Carthage, Illinois), and Michelle Sprague. Information about the candidates appears in the January/February 2012 issue of the Journal of Swine Health and Production. Ballots have been mailed to all AASV Active Members (veterinarians in the US, Canada, and Mexico) and must be returned by mail. Only official ballots received in the AASV office by March 2 will be counted. The election results will be announced at the AASV 2012 Annual Meeting in Denver.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Watch for Your Ballot: District Director Elections Under Way
Elections are under way for the AASV District Director positions in districts 1, 4, and 7. Ballots have been mailed to the voting members in each district. In District 1 (northeastern US), the candidates are Drs. Lynette Holman (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) and Michelle Michalak (Maria Stein, Ohio). In District 4 (Indiana and Michigan), the candidates are Drs. Jeffrey Harker (Frankfort, Indiana) and Paul Runnels (Richland, Michigan). In District 7 (western US), incumbent director Dr. Bill DuBois (Mustang, Oklahoma) is on the ballot with Dr. Brett O’Brien (Taylor, Arizona). Ballots must be returned by mail to the AASV by March 2, 2012. The election results will be announced at the AASV Annual Meeting in Denver.
Position Announcement: Swine Veterinarian – Southern Minnesota
As part of Pfizer Inc., a Fortune 100 Company, Pfizer Animal Health (PAH) is a world leader in the animal health industry. We are currently seeking a Swine Veterinarian to support and enhance our business.
Position Announcement: Swine Veterinarian – Columbus, Ohio area
As part of Pfizer Inc., a Fortune 100 Company, Pfizer Animal Health (PAH) is a world leader in the animal health industry. We are currently seeking a Swine Veterinarian to support and enhance our business.
Position Announcement: Swine Veterinarian – Indianapolis, Indiana area
As part of Pfizer Inc., a Fortune 100 Company, Pfizer Animal Health (PAH) is a world leader in the animal health industry. We are currently seeking a Swine Veterinarian to support and enhance our business.
2012 NIAA Annual Conference in Denver
The National Institute for Animal Agricultureâs 2012 Annual Conference, âLiving in a World of Decreasing Resources and Increasing Regulation: How to Advance Animal Agriculture,â March 27-28, in Denver, Colo., will look at how challenges such as tight credit, increased capital requirements, environmental regulations, drought and other weather issues, more demanding animal care standards and misperceptions about how animals are raised are impacting animal agricultureâand what steps can be taken to advance animal agriculture in light on these challenges.
Contemporary Epidemiology of North American Lineage Triple Reassortant Influenza A Viruses in Pigs
The 2009 pandemic H1N1 infection in humans has been one of the greatest concerns for public health in recent years. However, influenza in pigs is a zoonotic viral disease well-known to virologists for almost one century with the classical H1N1 subtype the only responsible agent for swine influenza in the United States for many decades. Swine influenza was first recognized clinically in pigs in the Midwestern U.S. in 1918 and since that time it has remained important to the swine industry throughout the world. Since 1998, however, the epidemiology of swine influenza changed dramatically. A number of emerging subtypes and genotypes have become established in the U.S. swine population. The ability of multiple influenza virus lineages to infect pigs is associated with the emergence of reassortant viruses with new genomic arrangements, and the introduction of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 from humans to swine represents a well-known example. The recent epidemiological data regarding the current state of influenza A virus subtypes circulating in the Canadian and American swine population is discussed in this review.
Vaccination of Influenza A Virus Decreases Transmission Rates in Pigs
Limited information is available on the transmission and spread of influenza virus in pig populations with differing immune statuses. In this study we assessed differences in transmission patterns and quantified the spread of a triple reassortant H1N1 influenza virus in naïve and vaccinated pig populations by estimating the reproduction ratio (R) of infection (i.e. the number of secondary infections caused by an infectious individual) using a deterministic Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model, fitted on experimental data. One hundred and ten pigs were distributed in ten isolated rooms as follows: (i) non-vaccinated (NV), (ii) vaccinated with a heterologous vaccine (HE), and (iii) vaccinated with a homologous inactivated vaccine (HO). The study was run with multiple replicates and for each replicate, an infected non-vaccinated pig was placed with 10 contact pigs for two weeks and transmission of influenza evaluated daily by analyzing individual nasal swabs by RT-PCR. A statistically significant difference between R estimates was observed between vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs (p < 0.05). A statistically significant reduction in transmission was observed in the vaccinated groups where R (95%CI) was 1 (0.39-2.09) and 0 for the HE and the HO groups respectively, compared to an Ro value of 10.66 (6.57-16.46) in NV pigs (p < 0.05). Transmission in the HE group was delayed and variable when compared to the NV group and transmission could not be detected in the HO group. Results from this study indicate that influenza vaccines can be used to decrease susceptibility to influenza infection and decrease influenza transmission.
Administration wants to Combine FSIS and FDA
Thereâs long been talk about creating a single federal food safety agency. That may become a reality if Congress grants the Obama Administration authority to reorganize the government. Such efforts are already underway following last weekâs announcement to close more than 250 USDA-based offices across the country, as well as combining the commerce and trade offices.
US Supreme Court Strikes Down California Law
On January 23, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law that bans the processing of all non-ambulatory livestock, including hogs. The law was approved by the California Legislature in 2008. It was prompted by the release of a video showing non-ambulatory cows being dragged and prodded at a California beef packing plant. The California statute would have required the immediate euthanasia of non-ambulatory animals, including hogs, upon arrival at processing facility.