The AASV will hold a members-only session again this year at the World Pork Expo. This year’s session will be chaired by AASV Vice president Alex Ramirez. The topic and specific agenda will be posted soon. The session will be held on Thursday June 4th 1:00 – 5:00pm in the Elwell Family Food Center (formerly known as the Tourism Building) at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. There is no pre-registration or fee to attend the session. The meeting is open to AASV members only.
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Drug Use Guidelines for Bovine Practice Available From AABP
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) has created Drug Use Guidelines for Bovine Practice to assist beef and dairy veterinarians in guiding appropriate, effective and legal drugs use on cattle operations. [Source: AABP press release, April 29, 2015]
Make a Difference!
AASV members are making a difference by sharing the facts about pig care and pork production with veterinary students, dieticians, and civic groups across the US. You can join your colleagues in the effort to counter misunderstanding and misinformation about the swine industry by becoming a trained Operation Main Street (OMS) speaker. Two OMS speaker-training opportunities will be held during World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa:
National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
On March 27, the White House released the comprehensive National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (Action Plan) that identifies critical actions to be taken by key Federal departments and agencies to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Domino’s Rejects PeTA Delivery
According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, the Board of Directors for the Dominoâs pizza chain overwhelmingly rejected a request from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) (which owns 39 shares of the company) to offer vegan toppings on its menu. More than 99% of the companyâs shareholders voted against the proposal defeating it by more than 43 million votes. The Domino’s board of directors encouraged opposition to the resolution citing a lack of interest from the public. Dominoâs recently reported same store sales increased 7.5% in 2014. [Source: Detroit Free Press]
USDA Awards Almost $3 Million in Research Grants to Increase Food Security Through Improved Livestock Health
The U.S. Department of Agricultureâs National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced three grants designed to boost food security by minimizing livestock losses to insects and diseases. The awards to support research, education, and Extension efforts were made through NIFAâs Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which is authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. [Source: NIFA Press Release, April 23, 2015]
United States and Peru Trade Achievements
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) met in Washington, D.C. to recognize valuable market access achievements for several longstanding issues for both the United States and Peru, including American fresh and chilled pork, rough and brown rice, live cattle, and beef. This success is the culmination of many years of hard work between the U.S. and Peruâs technical agencies. [Source: USDA APHIS]
Duration of Influenza Infections in Weaned Pig Populations
Control of influenza infections in swine farms has become more difficult due to the multiple strains and subtypes of influenza virus co-circulating in farms. Influenza infections are self-limiting at the individual animal level with infection lasting between 5 and 7 days approximately. However, infections at the population level tend to persist and can be detected at about any time. Influenza virus is considered endemic in swine populations worldwide, and is not uncommon to find between 3 and 5% of pigs positive to influenza virus at slaughter. [Source: Pig333.com, April 27, 2015 by Montserrat Torremorell, Andres Diaz]
Development of a Synthetic PRRSv Strain that Confers Broader Cross-Protection
Substantial genetic variation among PRRSV strains represents a major obstacle for the development of a broadly protective vaccine. We describe here a novel approach to generate a PRRSV vaccine strain that could confer broad cross-protection against divergent PRRSV isolates.
Canadian Pork Council Supports Antimicrobial Resistance Action
The Canadian Pork Council supports the Government of Canada in taking action on antimicrobial resistance. Health Canada intends to introduce regulatory amendments that will better align Canadian oversight on the importation of veterinary drugs for own use (OUI) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) with other countries. [Source: CPC]