PIC seeks a veterinarian to lead Health Services in Latin America, improve herd health of current and prospective customers, and improve the performance of PIC products.
Monthly Archives: August 2012
Position Announcement: PIC Health Assurance Veterinarian
PIC seeks a Health Assurance Veterinarian. The successful candidate will have exceptional opportunities through participation in the implementation and maintenance of the PIC Health Assurance Program.
Veterinary Student Travel Awards available for USAHA/AAVLD Annual Meeting
To promote student interest in careers in public veterinary practice and diagnostic veterinary medicine, the Veterinary Student Travel Awards program is soliciting applications for veterinary student attendance at the 2012 joint United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) meeting. Ten competitive $500 Travel Awards will be granted to students to offset travel expenses to the annual joint USAHA/AAVLD Meeting on October 17-24, 2012 in Greensboro, NC. One additional award funded by the Western States Livestock Health Association will go to a student from one of the western veterinary colleges. The AAVLD and USAHA have agreed to waive registration fees for veterinary students attending the meeting. Veterinary students from all U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine are eligible to apply.
Position Announcement: Swine Production Veterinarian
PFFJ, LLC â Farms is seeking a Swine Production Veterinarian. We are a leading pork producer in the Western United States with operations in four states (AZ, CA, CO and WY). This position would be based out of our Taylor, AZ location.
Prairie Swine Centre Releases Annual Research Report
The Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, has just released the 2011 edition of the Annual Research Report which provides insight into a wide range of industry challenges and opportunities. The Centre conducts research to meet the needs of the commercial pork value chain with new information that — reduces the cost of production, improves product quality, speaks to worker health and safety, lowers emissions and environmental impact, and addresses practical behaviour and welfare questions.
Senators Urge FDA to Collect More Data on Antibiotics in Agriculture
Thirteen senators from both sides of the aisle wrote to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg this week asking the agency to collect more data on antibiotics used in food animal production.
Swine Flu Present in Many ‘Healthy’ Farm-Show Pigs, UF Researchers Report
Despite their healthy appearance, several pigs on show at a 2009 U.S. state fair competition were infected with swine flu, according to a new study by University of Florida infectious disease experts.
Variant H3N2 Spreads to Three More States
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have confirmed their 1st novel H3N2 (H3N2v) cases linked to contact with pigs, especially at fairs, this summer [2012], as the national total has grown to 230 cases across 9 states, according to state reports and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Indiana reported the highest number of cases at 138, up from 120 reported the previous week. The swine-origin H3N2 virus contains the matrix gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus and so far this summer has been detected in Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Competitive Effect of Commensal Faecal Bacteria from Growing Swine Fed Chlortetracycline-Supplemented Feed on β-Haemolytic Escherichia coli Strains with Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance Plasmids
To determine the differences in competitive fitness among Escherichia coli strains with different plasmid profiles when grown in suspension with commensal faecal bacteria from growing swine fed chlortetracycline-supplemented or unsupplemented diets.
PRRS Corner: Regional PRRS Control with an Autogenous Vaccination Strategy
The objective of this project was to investigate the potential of an Autogenous Killed (AK) Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome virus (PRRSV) vaccine to control the disease in a small (20 km diameter) pig dense (1.4 site per km2) area in Québec, Canada over two years (2008-2010). Eighteen sow farms used the AK vaccine and 18 farms participated as controls. Vaccinated and control herds had similar sizes (100 to 2000 sows) and biosecurity practices (PADRAP tool). Seventy-three strains of PRRSV were sequenced in the zone. Most of these virus (63/73, 86%) were considered to be different strains (< 92% of homology). Only a few (8/73, 11%) could be cultivated successfully for the preparation of the AK vaccine. AK vaccine was renewed every 6 months and four strains of PRRSV were included in each batch. During the 2 years, 36 farmers reported 38 PRRSV related crises confirmed by laboratory methodologies (macroscopic and microscopic pathology and PRRSV identification).Production data analysis showed good agreement between reduced production, estimated by number of piglets per bred sow, and reported PRRSV crises (81% agreement and a kappa = 0.58). Regional vaccination with an AK vaccine did not effectively reduce the number of PRRSV related crises in the vaccinated farms. Authors consider that the large number of different PRRSV strains circulating in the zone and the problems with virus cultivation explain the low efficacy of the procedure.