Two more cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been confirmed in wild boars in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, with one found outside the area of the first discoveries, the federal agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. [Source: CGTN 30 Sept 2020]
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Quantifying the Dynamics of Pig Movements Improves Targeted Disease Surveillance and Control Plans
Tracking animal movements over time may fundamentally determine the success of disease control interventions. In commercial pig production growth stages determine animal transportation schedule, thus it generates time-varying contact networks showed to influence the dynamics of disease spread. In this study, we reconstructed pig networks of one Brazilian state from 2017 to 2018, comprising 351,519 movements and 48 million transported pigs. The static networks view did not capture time-respecting movement pathways. For this reason, we propose a time-dependent network approach. A susceptible-infected model was used to spread an epidemic over the pig network globally through the temporal between-farm networks, and locally by a stochastic model to account for within-farm dynamics. We propagated disease to calculate the cumulative contacts as a proxy of epidemic sizes and evaluate the impact of network-based disease control strategies in the absence of other intervention alternatives. The results show that targeting 1,000 farms ranked by degree would be sufficient and feasible to diminish disease spread considerably. Our modeling results indicated that independently from where initial infections were seeded (i.e., independent, commercial farms), the epidemic sizes and the number of farms needed to be targeted to effectively control disease spread were quite similar, indeed this finding can be explained by the presence of contact among all pig operation types The proposed strategy limited the transmission the total number of secondarily infected farms to 29, over two simulated years. The identified 1,000 farms would benefit from enhanced biosecurity plans and improved targeted surveillance. Overall, the modeling framework provides a parsimonious solution for targeted disease surveillance when temporal movement data is available. Machado G, Galvis J, Lopes F, Voges J, Medeiros A, Cárdenas N. Quantifying the dynamics of pig movements improves targeted disease surveillance and control plans. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2020 Sep. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13841
Detection of H1 Swine Influenza A Virus Antibodies in Human Serum Samples by Age Group
Most H1 influenza A viruses (IAVs) of swine are derived from past human viruses. As human population immunity against these IAVs gradually decreases, the risk of reintroduction to humans increases. We examined 549 serum samples from persons 0-97 years of age collected in Belgium during 2017-2018 for hemagglutination inhibiting and virus neutralizing antibodies against 7 major H1 swine IAV (swIAV) clades and 3 human progenitor IAVs. Seroprevalence (titers >40) rates were >50% for classical swine and European human-like swIAVs, >24% for North American human-like δ1a and Asian avian-like swIAVs, and
SHIC/AASV Webinar on October 13 to Address Uptick in Lameness
Veterinary diagnostic labs (VDLs) at Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota both report an increase in submissions related to swine lameness. This industry chatter prompted a webinar sponsored by the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) and American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) set for October 13, 2020, beginning at 1:00 pm CT.
Publication of the 2019 Annual Report of the Federal Select Agent Program
This week the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) published its fifth annual report of aggregate program data, the 2019 Annual Report of the Federal Select Agent Program, as part of the program’s continued efforts to provide the American public with insight into the regulatory activities of the program. The annual publication of this report reflects FSAP’s continued commitment to increasing transparency and understanding of the program. [Source: USDA 24 Sep 2020]
USDA Announces Second Round of Funding for Feral Swine Program
The USDA is accepting applications from non-federal, not-for-profit partners for projects to help agricultural producers and private landowners trap and control feral swine, which is part of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is making $12 million available and will accept applications through Nov. 5, in eight priority states during its second round of project funding. [Source: National Hog Farmer 25 Sep 2020]
USDA APHIS Extends Updated Interim Guidance for Veterinary Health Certificates through December 31, 2020
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) continues to recognize the unprecedented challenge that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic poses to trade. To alleviate the impact on animal origin commodities imports, APHIS provides the following interim guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists assigned to review required import information for animal products and by-products regulated by USDA APHIS. This guidance replaces previous editions that were communicated with CBP. [Source: USDA 30 Sep 2020]
Zoetis Releases Update of M. Hyo Manual
Zoetis has released an update of the comprehensive manual, “A Contemporary Review of Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae Control Strategies,” a 62-page booklet with 14 articles developed by swine-disease experts specializing in this pathogen. [Source: Zoetis 30 Sep 2020]
ISU to Investigate How COVID-19 Crisis Impacted U.S. Food Supply Chain
A new grant will allow Iowa State University researchers to study how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the U.S. food supply chain with the goal of finding short- and long-term solutions to increase resiliency against future disruptions. [Source: National Hog Farmer 24 Sep 2020]
AASV Member Access to AVMA Webinar: Psychological Impacts of Depopulation in Crises
Thank you to the generous support of Zoetis, AASV members who are not AVMA members are now able to access an on-demand recording of AVMA’s webinar, Psychological Impacts of Depopulation in Crises, free of charge. For information on how to access this webinar, login into the AASV Member Center and locate the “Special Offers for AASV Members” near the bottom of the page. Please do not use this code if you are an AVMA member – you already have free access to the webinar.