I recently attended a meeting to discuss on-farm foodborne illness investigations. During the discussions regarding the differences between animal health and human health officials, a participant in the room summed it by saying, “It will be hard to make CDC understand that chickens aren’t broccoli!”
Monthly Archives: September 2018
SHIC Swine Disease Matrix Update: African Swine Fever Moves Up
The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) revised the priority of African swine fever (ASF) on the Swine Disease Matrix from an average risk score of 7.7 to 8.3. This moved ASF from third on the Matrix to second. This action comes as multiple new outbreaks of ASF in China were reported in August and September, now totaling more than 20. Westward spread of ASF was observed with Bulgaria reporting its first case and Romania struggling to control the epidemic. On September 14, the OIE official report of the first ASF case in Belgium was released with three additional cases confirmed the following day by the Federal Agriculture Minister.
SHIC Offers Global Disease Reporting Tool
The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) supports a near real-time monitoring system for swine diseases around the world. Now, practitioners, scientists, allied industry personnel, and producers in the US have the opportunity to submit information on outbreaks and epidemics happening worldwide using the UMN Spontaneous reporting tool. This information, when verified, will be included in SHIC’s Global Disease Monitoring Report, prepared by University of Minnesota (UMN) staff. The report is a systematic way to monitor new or emerging diseases around the globe to help keep the US pork industry informed of potential risks. An international network of collaborators spontaneously reporting disease events will contribute to the development of this near real-time global monitoring system for swine diseases.
USDA Outlines Next Steps for Advancing Animal Disease Traceability
Today, Greg Ibach, Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs, announced USDA’s four overarching goals for advancing animal disease traceability to protect the long-term health, marketability and economic viability of the U.S. livestock industry. [Source: USDA, September 25, 2018]
Psst … Help Celebrate a Birthday!
AASV Charter Member Dr. Dale Hendrickson will be marking his 74th birthday on September 30. His staff is planning to surprise him with a shower of cards from his friends and colleagues. If you’d like to participate, please send your card to:
Submit Your Practice Tip Before It’s Too Late
Whether you’ve been in practice 50 years, 5 years, or 5 months, you’ve experienced challenges and found a way to deal with them. Don’t keep this hard-earned knowledge to yourself – share it with your colleagues in the “AASV’s Got Talent” practice tips seminar on Saturday, March 9 during the 2019 AASV Annual Meeting. The meeting program is nearly complete, so don’t wait – contact Dr Jeff Harker (jharker@amvcms.com) or the AASV office (aasv@aasv.org) today to volunteer your tip. There is no proceedings paper required, and you may even win a cash prize!
Pork Producers Advised to Know Source of Feed Ingredients
Animal Nutrition Association of Canada says biosecurity remains the main line of defense for ensuring feed remains free of the pathogens responsible for transmitting disease, such as African swine fever.
Rademacher is Newly Named Associate Director for Iowa Pork Industry Center
Chris Rademacher said the opportunity to develop new conduits of information from Iowa State University to all pork producers drew him to the associate director position at Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC). [Source: IPIC, September 20, 2018]
Five Possible Pathways ASF Could Enter Canada
The Manager of Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network says preventing African swine fever (ASF) from entering Canada revolves around biosecurity. The discovery of African swine fever in China in early August is prompting the North American pork sector to reevaluate biosecurity. Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network Manager Dr. Jette Christensen told an ASF Telephone Town Hall last week there are five pathways along which African swine fever could enter Canada. [Source: Farmscape.ca, by Bruce Cochrane, September 24, 2018]
ASF Presentation Videos Available Online
Videos of the African swine fever presentations from the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference are now available online: African Swine Fever – a real and present global threat, Chris Oura – VIDEO ASF experiences in a large commercial system, Gustavo Lopez – VIDEO Risk of ASF virus in feed and mitigation strategies, Scott Dee – VIDEO ASF awareness, prevention, and response efforts at the national level, Patrick Webb – VIDEO