“If it stinks, wash it!” – Dr. Locke Karriker referring to transport sanitation but actually applicable to a wide range of situations (particularly when raising young kids, he notes).
Monthly Archives: April 2017
Rural Veterinary Practitioner Conference: Preparing for Disease Challenges
Rural practitioners, have you been looking for continuing education that caters to your specific needs? Here’s your opportunity!
Iowa Pork Industry Center to Hold PQA Advisor Certification Session in Early June
Iowa Pork Industry Center has scheduled a Pork Quality Assurance Plus 3.0 advisor certification session during the 2017 World Pork Expo in Des Moines. Iowa State University Extension swine veterinarian Chris Rademacher is coordinating the session that’s set for Thursday, June 8, at the Iowa State Fair Grounds. See https://www.ipic.iastate.edu/news/PQAP3Advisor0617.html for details.
SHIC Is Working with US and Canadian Stakeholders to Decrease Disease Transmission Via Biocontainment
Dr. Paul Sundberg, executive director of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), is participating with swine industry representatives from the US and Canada to create and implement industry-wide, North American standard operating procedures (SOPs) for transportation related biocontainment. Practitioners from the US and Canada, National Pork Board, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Canadian Pork Council, packing industry representatives, and transportation subject matter experts are collaborating on the project. This new group desires to involve more stakeholders in this process with the ultimate goal of decreasing the incidence of disease associated with marketing transportation of pigs and sows to the first points of concentration.
NAHMS Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017 Study
From May through August 2017, the USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will conduct a national study focusing on how antimicrobials are used on swine operations in the United States. The NAHMS Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017 study represents a new data collection and reporting effort for NAHMS, intended to be repeated biennially. In particular, the study will examine antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on swine nursery and grower- finisher facilities with a capacity of at least 1,000 head. [Source: USDA NAHMS]
NAHMS Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017 Study
From May through August 2017, the USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will conduct a national study focusing on how antimicrobials are used on swine operations in the United States. The NAHMS Antimicrobial Use on U.S. Swine Operations, 2017 study represents a new data collection and reporting effort for NAHMS, intended to be repeated biennially. In particular, the study will examine antimicrobial use and stewardship practices on swine nursery and grower- finisher facilities with a capacity of at least 1,000 head. [Source: USDA NAHMS]
Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food and the Effect of Increasing Use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests on Surveillance – Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2013-201
Compared with the 2013-2015 average annual incidence, the 2016 incidence of confirmed Campylobacter infections was lower, incidences of confirmed Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Yersinia, and Cryptosporidium infections were higher, and incidences of confirmed or Culture-independent diagnostic test (CIDT) positive-only STEC and Yersinia infections were higher. However, CIDTs complicate the interpretation of surveillance data; testing for pathogens might occur more frequently because of changes in either health care provider behaviors or laboratory testing practices. A large proportion of CIDT positive specimens were not reflex cultured, which is necessary to obtain isolates for distinguishing pathogen subtypes, determining antimicrobial resistance, monitoring trends, and detecting outbreaks. [Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 21, 2017] What are the implications for public health practice? Some information about the bacteria causing infections, such as subtype and antimicrobial susceptibility, can only be obtained for CIDT positive specimens if reflex culture is performed. CIDTs are increasingly used by clinical laboratories to detect enteric infections. Increasing use of CIDTs affects the interpretation of public health surveillance data and ability to monitor progress toward prevention measures. Read the entire report here. Marder EP, Cieslak PR, Cronquist AB, et al. Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food and the Effect of Increasing Use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests on Surveillance — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2013-2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:397-403. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6615a1
Perdue Joins White House “Farmers Roundtable” as President Trump Issues Executive Order on Agriculture
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today joined President Trump for a “Farmers Roundtable” at the White House to address issues facing the American agriculture community, as the president signed an Executive Order establishing an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. The roundtable discussion allowed representatives from all corners of American agriculture to raise concerns and share ideas, just as the task force begins its mission “to promote economic development and revitalization, job growth, infrastructure, innovation, and quality of life issues for rural America,” according to the president’s order. The session capped a busy first day in office for Perdue, who was sworn in by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas as the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture before greeting employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and travelling to the White House for the roundtable. [Source: USDA, April 25, 2017]
Golf for the Foundation August 24
Mark your calendar! The popular AASV Foundation Golf Outing is set for Thursday, August 24 at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, Iowa. Proceeds from the event benefit the AASV Foundation and provide support for swine externships, travel stipends, research grants, and more. For a sneak peek at the course, visit http://www.veenkergolf.com/. Registration for the 18-hole “best ball” tournament will open in June.
Estimation of Time-Dependent Reproduction Numbers for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome across Different Regions and Production Systems of the US
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is, arguably, the most impactful disease for the North American swine industry, due to its known considerable economic losses. The Swine Health Monitoring Project (SHMP) monitors and reports weekly new PRRS cases in 766 sow herds across the US. The time-dependent reproduction number (TD-R) is a measure of a pathogen’s transmissibility. It may serve to capture and report PRRS virus (PRRSV) spread at the regional and system levels. The primary objective of the study here was to estimate the TD-R values for PRRSV using regional and system-level PRRS data, and to contrast it with commonly used metrics of disease, such as incidence estimates and space-time clusters. The second objective was to test whether the estimated TD-Rs were homogenous across four US regions. Retrospective monthly incidence data (2009-2016) were available from the SHMP. The dataset was divided into four regions based on location of participants, and demographic and environmental features, namely, South East (North Carolina), Upper Midwest East (UME, Minnesota/Iowa), Upper Midwest West (Nebraska/South Dakota), and South (Oklahoma panhandle). Generation time distributions were fit to incidence data for each region, and used to calculate the TD-Rs. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine whether the median TD-Rs differed across the four areas. Furthermore, we used a space-time permutation model to assess spatial-temporal patterns for the four regions. Results showed TD-Rs were right skewed with median values close to “1” across all regions, confirming that PRRS has an overall endemic nature. Variation in the TD-R patterns was noted across regions and production systems. Statistically significant periods of PRRSV spread (TD-R > 1) were identified for all regions except UME. A minimum of three space-time clusters were detected for all regions considering the time period examined herein; and their overlap with “spreader events” identified by the TD-R method varied according to region. TD-Rs may help to measure PRRS spread to understand, in quantitative terms, disease spread, and, ultimately, support the design, implementation, and monitoring of interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of PRRSV spread in the US. Read the entire study here. Arruda AG, Alkhamis MA, VanderWaal K, Morrison RB, Perez AM; Estimation of Time-Dependent Reproduction Numbers for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome across Different Regions and Production Systems of the US; Front Vet Sci. 2017 Apr 5;4:46. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2017.00046. eCollection 2017.