Effective April 29, Dr. Marisa Rotolo has joined PIC as a Health Assurance Veterinarian. She will be responsible for the implementation and communication of the PIC Health Assurance program, and will also provide health services and solutions to support the PIC sales team’s efforts. Dr. Rotolo obtained DVM and PhD degrees from Iowa State University (ISU) and worked as a postdoc at the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Since 2017, she has been a postdoctoral research associate in a cooperative agreement between the USDA Center of Epidemiology and Animal Health and the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, focusing on validating diagnostic tools and developing surveillance strategies for foreign animal diseases. Updated contact information for Dr. Rotolo is available at www.aasv.org/members/only/directory.php. Are you on the move? If so, let us know at aasv@aasv.org.
Monthly Archives: April 2019
Position Announcement: Senior Technical Support Manager, Swine
Would you enjoy a technical position developing customer partnerships and providing value-linked product innovations? Are you interested in working for an industry leader that values safety, sustainability, and employee development? If you’re an experienced technical professional with a penchant for developing new markets and defining product value, along with a proven track record of success working with swine applications – this could be the perfect match for you!
Position Announcement: Senior Swine Veterinarian
Smithfield Hog Production is seeking a Senior Swine Veterinarian for our Rocky Mountain Region who will assist in improving production and efficiency and company profitability through improving herd heath status and bio-security. The main operation, located in beautiful Southern Utah, is a 100,000 sow operation farrow to finish with 60+ farm sites. This position may also support our Arizona, California and Idaho locations within the region. This position will promote process improvement with a focus on health, disease prevention and biosecurity. Competitive pay ($96k – $120k) and amazing benefits are offered! Come be a part of Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer, and help us produce “Good Food. Responsibly®.” For details and to apply, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com/hogproduction; requisition number 19000574.
EPA-Registered Disinfectants for Use Against African Swine Fever Virus
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants that may be used against African swine fever virus and other foreign animal diseases in farm settings, as permitted by the EPA-registered product label can be found here. This table does not include pesticides registered for use against vectors that may transmit the pathogen. For more information, visit www.pork.org/fad.AASV Staff
An Integrated Experimental and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling Study of Penicillin G in Heavy Sows
Penicillin G is widely used in food-producing animals at extralabel doses and is one of the most frequently identified violative drug residues in animal-derived food products. In this study, the plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue residue depletion of penicillin G in heavy sows after repeated intramuscular administrations at label (6.5 mg/kg) and 5 × label (32.5 mg/kg) doses were determined. Plasma, urine, and environmental samples were tested as potential antemortem markers for penicillin G residues. The collected new data and other available data from the literature were used to develop a population physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for penicillin G in heavy sows. The results showed that antemortem testing of urine provided potential correlation with tissue residue levels. Based on the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service action limit of 25 ng/g, the model estimated a withdrawal interval of 38 days for penicillin G in heavy sows after 3 repeated intramuscular injections at 5 × label dose. This study improves our understanding of penicillin G pharmacokinetics and tissue residue depletion in heavy sows and provides a tool to predict proper withdrawal intervals after extralabel use of penicillin G in heavy sows, thereby helping safety assessment of sow-derived meat products. Li M, Mainquist-Whigham C, Karriker LA, Wulf LW, Zeng D, Gehring R, Riviere JE, Coetzee JF, Lin Z. An integrated experimental and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling study of penicillin G in heavy sows. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvp.12766
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus: Web-Based Interactive Tools to Support Surveillance and Control Initiatives
BACKGROUND: Control of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) represents a tremendous challenge. The trend is now toward managing the disease collectively. In Quebec, area and regional control and elimination (ARC&E) initiatives started in 2011; diagnostic testing, including ORF5 sequencing, and sharing of information among stakeholders are largely promoted. At the provincial level, a data-sharing agreement was signed by Quebec swine practitioners allowing PRRS virus (PRRSV) sequences to be transferred to a database maintained by the Laboratoire d’épidémiologie et de médecine porcine (LEMP-DB). Several interactive tools were developed and are available to veterinarians to allow comparison of PRRSV ORF5 sequences within ARC&E projects or provincially while managing confidentiality issues. RESULTS: Between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2018, 4346 PRRSV ORF5 sequences were gathered into the LEMP-DB, involving 1254 sites and 43 practicing veterinarians. Approximately 34% of the submissions were from ARC&E projects. Using a novel web-based sequence comparison tool, each veterinarian has access to information on his/her client sequences and can compare each sequence with 1) commercial vaccine strains, 2) historical samples from the same site, and 3) all sequences submitted to the database over the last 4 years. Newly introduced PRRSV into breeding herds can be monitored using a new sequence comparison tool based on comparison of sequences at the provincial level. Each month, graphs providing the number of introductions per month and the yearly cumulative are updated. Between August 1st 2014 and December 31st 2018, 233 introductions were detected on 180 different breeding sites. Following a data-sharing agreement, veterinarians involved in ARC&E projects have access to an interactive mapping tool to locate pig sites, compare sequence similarity between participating sites and visualize the results on the map. CONCLUSIONS: The structure developed in Quebec to collect, analyse and share sequencing data was efficient to provide useful information to the swine industry at both provincial and regional levels while dealing with confidentiality issues. Lambert MÈ, Audet P, Delisle B, Arsenault J, D’Allaire S. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: web-based interactive tools to support surveillance and control initiatives. Porcine Health Manag. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-019-0117-x
U.S. One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization Workshop Report
Today CDC posted the final workshop report from the U.S. One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization Workshop jointly hosted by CDC, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). [Source: CDC 25 April 2019]
Iowa Swine Day June 27
This year’s Iowa Swine Day event, set for June 27 at Iowa State University in Ames, IA, offers expert speakers who will address current issues affecting the industry. Some of the topics will include the status of and response to African Swine Fever, what makes a biosecurity program successful, improving company culture, precision pork production, and feeding the high-producing sow. Learn more about the presenters, topics and agenda.
May 7: Veterinary Antibiotic Stewardship Webinar Series, Hosted by MOHASC and MVMA
What: Five-part webinar series for veterinarians with continuing education credit, hosted by Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative and Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association
Doc Tales
After work on a recent Friday, I happened to bump into one of our colleagues leaving the office. She seemed uncharacteristically harried causing me to ask where she was headed in such a rush. Her reply: “The grandkids are coming for the weekend – I’ve got to buy more tape!” Ah grandparents. Spoil ’em and send ’em home.