The Swine Health Information Center has awarded research funding to five projects designed to better understand the potential use of tongue tips for monitoring emerging diseases. When announcing the request for proposals on tongue tip research, SHIC’s research priorities included diagnostic test sensitivity and specificity, diagnostic lab processing procedures, virus isolation techniques, use to achieve PRRS stability or elimination as a model for emerging disease, and use for investigating vertical and/or horizontal disease transmission. Overall, more information is needed about how to apply tongue tip monitoring to support producers and veterinarians in recovery from emerging diseases. After a competitive proposal review process, awards were made to the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University in fall 2023.
Author Archives: Paul Sundberg
SHIC Renews Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project Funding for 2023-2024
With funding from the Swine Health Information Center renewed for 2023-2024, the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project’s industry-driven goals continue to focus on enhancing the health of the US swine herd by providing tools that enable implementation of expanded preparedness measures to address emerging or foreign animal disease emergencies. This includes continuously tracking and analyzing trends in the incidence, prevalence, and elimination of pathogens, sustaining ongoing surveillance of PRRSV sequences impacting the US swine population, enhancing producer engagement, broadening representation of the industry, and facilitating access to timely and relevant disease information.
SHIC Funds Study Investigating Feed Mill Decontamination Methods
Dr. Chad Paulk, Kansas State University, led a project to understand the best flushing, thermal processing, and decontamination techniques for a feed mill after exposure to PEDV, PRRSV, and SVA. In addition to PCR testing for viral RNA, infectivity of feed and environmental samples collected after utilizing the decontamination techniques were evaluated using swine bioassays. Overall, data showed that chemical flushing, thermal processing, and facility decontamination reduce the quantity of viral RNA, but more research is needed to understand how these techniques affect virus infectivity.
SHIC-Funded Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report Accomplishments Continue
The Swine Health Information Center’s Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report began with the goal of providing aggregated endemic swine pathogen PCR detection statistics to inform the US pork industry on disease trends and prevalence. The Swine Disease Reporting System database used for the report is populated with information from participating veterinary diagnostic labs and shared in monthly PDF and audio (podcast) reports as well as via a live, interactive online dashboard. A recent renewal by SHIC funds the program through September 2024.
SHIC Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Results Presented at NAPRRS/NC229 Conference
During the 2023 NAPRRS/NC229 International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases (ICSVD), the Swine Health Information Center hosted a special session, “Biosecurity in the US Swine Industry.” SHIC invited four principal investigators in its Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, that is cooperatively funded with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, to speak about their bioexclusion, biocontainment and transport biosecurity research results.
SHIC Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program Web-Based Application
The Swine Health Information Center’s Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program (SOIP) was introduced in early 2023 with a downloadable standardized outbreak investigation Word-based form. Now, a web-based application to conduct outbreak investigations is available. Developed in response to an industry need for a standardized tool to make sustainable progress on biosecurity, this expert-built application provides for consistent investigation and data collection.
SHIC-Funded Review on Aerosol Biosecurity Published
Infectious diseases such as PED, PRRS, influenza, and others can be transmitted through contaminated airborne particles. A variety of industries use different technologies to control aerosolized emissions such as airborne pathogens. To investigate novel technologies from other industries for potential translation to swine facilities, SHIC funded Dr. Montserrat Torremorell, University of Minnesota, and colleagues to conduct an extensive review of current and prospective aerosol technologies. Their findings have now been published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in a report titled, “Control technologies to prevent aerosol-based disease transmission in animal agriculture production settings: a review of established and emerging approaches.”
Strep. zoo Experiences Provide Response Blueprint During SHIC/AASV Webinar
Recent US experiences and a series of severe Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus outbreaks in Canada and globally since 2019 led to a Swine Health Information Center/American Association of Swine Veterinarians webinar on November 29, 2023. Presentations from Canadian and US experts provided 173 live participants from seven countries and 26 US states field experiences, background, and what you need to know to take action during a Strep. zoo outbreak.
SHIC/AASV Webinar: Strep zooepidemicus Experiences – November 29
Until September and October 2019, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus had only been reported as causing disease in pigs in Asia. The first US cases with significant mortalities were reported in Ohio and Tennessee in 2019 with subsequent identification in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Now, with a series of very severe S. zoo outbreaks in Canada, the Swine Health Information Center and American Association of Swine Veterinarians will host a webinar on S. zoo on November 29, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 pm CST with US and Canadian experts.
SHIC’s Biosecurity Program Studies Transport Trailer Cleanliness Using Bioluminescence
Livestock trailer cleanliness is normally determined by visual evaluation, assessing if it is free of organic material and suitable to return to a farm. However, studies have shown visual inspection may be insufficient to ensure cleanliness and reduce disease transmission risk because viruses and bacteria are microscopic. In a Swine Health Information Center Wean to Harvest Biosecurity Program study conducted by Dustin Boler, Carthage Innovative Swine Solutions, and Bailey Harsh, University of Illinois, the suitability of bioluminescence for evaluating trailer cleanliness was assessed and confirmed as a prospective testing method.