Ohio State University Student Takes Home Morrison Swine Innovator Prize
If you’re curious about the future of veterinarian technology, rest assured it looks bright.
Seven finalists competed for the Morrison Swine Innovator Prize at the 2021 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference during “Clinical Cases and Problem-Solving Skills by DVM Students.”
The winner of this year’s prize, Kaci Way, presented “Investigation of ultraviolet C (UVC) doses in homemade UVC chambers with items commonly used on swine farms.” Way, a second-year The Ohio State University veterinary student, discussed how UVC chambers are used for disease mitigation to disinfect items upon farm entry. During her study, she determined materials UVC light can penetrate by calculating the UVC dose for items commonly found on swine farms.
During the study, Way placed a UVC meter probe on each shelf of the UVC chamber to establish a baseline UVC dose after one minute. Fourteen items used in swine farms were tested.
Way said she individually placed items on top of the UVC meter probe in the middle shelf of the chamber. The UVC chamber was turned on for one minute and irradiance was recorded. The following formula was used to determine the UVC dose each item received, D = I × T, where D = UV dose (mJ/cm2), I = light intensity or irradiance (mW/cm2), T = treatment time or exposure time (s). Additionally, five-minute and ten- minute doses were calculated, she explained.
The irradiances in the empty UVC chamber were 1.262 mW/cm2 for the top shelf, 0.872 mW/cm2 for the middle shelf, and 1.040 mW/cm2 for the bottom shelf, she said.
“These differences were expected because the distances from light sources varied between shelves,” Way said.
UVC light did not penetrate the foam to-go cup with plastic lid, cloth-insulated lunch bag, paper grocery bag, glass food storage container, and plastic sports drink bottle that she tested. However, the aluminum foil, plastic bottled water, white plastic grocery bag, 0.060” non-acrylic glass, black plastic food container, and blue plastic food container had irradiances between 0.001 and 0.228 mW/cm2.
“When UVC doses were calculated, they were insufficient to inactivate most swine pathogens,” Way said.
Three types of plastic freezer bags and a clear plastic food storage container had irradiances between 0.254 and 1.035 mW/cm2.
“The UVC dose in the empty chamber at 5 and 10 minutes were 261-378 mJ/cm2 and 523-757 mJ/cm2. This suggested that five minutes in the UVC chamber was adequate to inactivate most swine pathogens,” Way explained. “Future studies can test the survival of swine pathogens in UVC chambers at different time intervals to determine the optimal disinfection time.”
Other finalists included Madison Durflinger of Iowa State University with “Evaluating the efficacy of CURIS Decontamination fogger in a truck cab and in a mock C&D room against PRRSV 1-4-4 L1C variant,” Isaac Goldner of the University of Illinois with “Emerging Atypical Porcine Pestivirus in a Midwestern Sow Farm,” Megan Kellen of Iowa State University with “Evaluation of how false Mhp positive tracheobronchial swabs led to a system-wide Mhp naïve gilt vaccination strategy analysis,” Megan McMahon of the University of Minnesota with “The effect of dilution solution and storage conditions on lung homogenate for Mycoplasma hypopneumoniae exposure,” Lindsay Miller of the University of Minnesota with “African Swine Fever: Surveillance Diagnostics” and Kacie Parker of Iowa State University with “Evaluation of potential areas of disease spread at truck washes using Glo Germ detection.”
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