As has been the case over the last few years, the AASV committees will meet on Saturday morning March 1 at the AASV Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX. We have set aside 7:00am â noon for committee meetings. The specific time and agenda for each committee will be posted on the AASV web site as we get closer to the Annual Meeting. If you currently serve on a committee or would like to sit in on a committee meeting please plan your travel and hotel accommodations accordingly.
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Nominations Open for AASV District Director Positions
Have you ever considered serving the AASV in a governing role? Nominations for the office of AASV District Director are currently being sought in four AASV districts. Nomination cards are being mailed to all eligible voters in districts 2 (southeastern USA), 5 (Illinois and Wisconsin), 9 (Minnesota and North Dakota), and 11 (Canada). Potential candidates must be Active AASV members residing in the district to be represented (Affiliate, Associate, and Student Members are not eligible to hold office or vote). Nominations must be returned by mail to arrive in the AASV office by January 17. In each district, the two nominees receiving the most nominations will be placed on the ballot, subject to their consent to serve.
Position Announcement: Veterinarian Associate in China
Carthage Veterinary Services, Ltd, located in Carthage, Illinois, is seeking a veterinarian associate to serve swine clients in China. The veterinarian will be a full-time associate of the CVS practice. The veterinarian will lead a team of two young Chinese veterinarians. Reporting will be directly to Dr Joseph Connor. The clients serviced in China will be new swine operations seeking animal health education to their breed-to-wean and wean-to-finish caregivers. This position will focus primarily on diagnostics, therapeutic and vaccine programs, and animal health education. All travel to China and between client herds will be provided, along with a salary commensurate with experience. CVS offers a competitive benefits package to veterinarians with ownership potential. Both experienced and new veterinarians are welcome to apply.
Pig-Ski Headed Back to Copper Mountain
The 2014 Pig-Group Ski Seminar is slated for February 5 – 7, 2014 at Colorado’s Copper Mountain. The event opens with a reception on Wednesday evening, Feb 5. Continuing education sessions take place Thursday and Friday mornings, with the afternoons free for recreational activities. The family-oriented resort offers shopping, skating, snowmobiling, sleigh rides and night life activities – all within walking distance.
BIVI Encourages Swine Vets, Researchers to Submit Proposals for PRRS Research
With porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) costing U.S. swine producers more than $664 million annually in lost production, collaborative scientific research continues to be the industryâs best hope for finding new ways to mitigate this devastating disease.
Results of Stalosan F Efficacy Testing Against PEDv
The results of a National Pork Board funded study indicates that Stalosan F is not effective at inactivating PED virus in swine feces on metal surfaces. The study, conducted by Dr. Derald Holtkamp at Iowa State University, was designed to replicate what is found in livestock trailers after fecal and other organic matter has been removed by scraping and sweeping, but not washed. The hope was that the product might be efficacious at inactivating the virus in the presence of fecal material. These findings indicate that producers should not expect to kill the PED virus with the use of Stalosan F disinfectant powder in a hog trailer that has not been properly washed. Thorough washing, disinfecting, and drying of hog trailers between loads of pigs should be accomplished whenever possible. The effectiveness of Stalosan F disinfectant in trailers that have been properly washed is unknown. The entire study may be viewed on the NPB web site.
PEDv Update – December 24, 2013
⢠Infective Material, Concepts and Procedures for Intentional Sow Herd Exposure to Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus — The authors describe a field-based strategy to enhance sow herd immunity to PEDv in herds suffering a recent outbreak. (Provided to AASV 12/24/2013 by the authors: Drs Schwartz, Henry, Tokach, Potter, Davidson and Egnor)
Taking Aim at Deadly Swine Diseases
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are stepping up their efforts to help fight deadly swine viruses that are prevalent in other countries and pose a threat to the United States.
PRRS Corner: 2013 PRRS Resurgence Delayed 3 Weeks
According to the data collected by the National PRRS Incidence Project at the University of Minnesota, the annual upswing in PRRS cases did not cross the epidemic threshold until November 6 this year. Over the previous four years, the date had been remarkably consistent with cases reaching the epidemic level during the late second or third week in October.
Identification and Molecular Characterization of Porcine Kobuvirus in U. S. Swine
Porcine kobuvirus has been associated with piglet diarrhea in Asia and Europe, but there are no reports of its presence in the U.S. swine farms. We screened intestinal contents from 114 diarrheic pigs and fecal samples from 46 apparently healthy pigs to determine the presence of kobuvirus by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using 3D (RNA polymerase) region primers (amplicon size 216 bp). The samples from ill pigs came from 15 different U.S. states, while those from healthy pigs were obtained from three different farms in Minnesota. Twenty-five (21.9 %) pigs with diarrhea and ten (21.7 %) healthy pigs were positive for kobuvirus. All strains from diarrheic pigs were further typed by means of VP1 region primers (amplicon size 811 bp). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all porcine kobuvirus strains had 93.1-96.5 % nucleotide identity with NLD45 strain from the Netherlands and BRA24 strain from Brazil in the 3D region. In the VP1 region, only 86.7-88.5 % homology was found with the T247 strain from Japan and 85.8-87.4 % homology with WUH1 strain from China. All 25 kobuvirus positive pigs had mixed infection with transmissible gastroenteritis virus and/or rotavirus (groups A, B, or C). Pigs less than 4 weeks of age showed higher prevalence of kobuvirus than the older pigs. The results of this preliminary study indicate that porcine kobuvirus is present in both healthy and diarrheic pigs in the U.S. and that further studies are needed to determine its role in gastrointestinal infections of pigs.