The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) is partnering with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff to fund a $4-million research program to enhance prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response capabilities for H5N1 influenza in the U.S. swine herd.
H5N1 influenza, an emerging disease identified as a priority for the U.S. pork industry, poses a risk due to ongoing outbreaks in poultry and a growing number of diverse mammalian species susceptible to infection, SHIC said in a release. The unprecedented 2024 H5N1 outbreak impacting dairy herds across the U.S. fuels the urgency for greater understanding and information, along with the recent discovery of the virus in a single backyard pig in Oregon on Oct. 30.
“This diagnosis certainly reminds us of the necessity for diligent, effective, and consistent biosecurity measures on all pig farms to safeguard the health of our herds. SHIC continues to prioritize the mitigation of H5N1 and other emerging disease risks to US swine through our disease prevention, preparedness and response infrastructure to maintain the health of U.S. swine,” says Megan Niederwerder, executive director of SHIC. “Importantly, no animals on the Oregon farm were intended for the commercial food supply and U.S. pork remains safe for consumers.”
Research priorities for H5N1 are designed to further strengthen U.S. swine industry prevention and preparedness as well as inform response efforts should H5N1 be introduced into the commercial swine herd.
Submission Information
Proposal submissions are encouraged from qualified researchers for funding consideration to address H5N1 risk to swine research priorities described in the detailed Request for Research Proposals found here along with the instructions for completion and submission, including topic areas of 1) vaccines, 2) clinical presentation, 3) mammary transmission, 4) surveillance, 5) introduction risks, 6) caretakers, 7) biosecurity, 8) pork safety, 9) production impact and 10) pig movements.
Individual awards are capped at $250,000, however, proposals may exceed cap if sufficient justification is provided, the release said. Matching funds are encouraged but not required; the funding cap applies to only those funds requested from SHIC/FFAR/NPB. All projects should strive to have a high impact, show value to pork producers, and have pork industry-wide benefit.
Collaborative projects including the pork industry, allied industry, dairy or poultry industries, academic institutions, and/or public/private partnerships are highly encouraged. Projects demonstrating the most urgent priorities and timeliness of completion, providing the greatest value to pork producers, and showing efficient use of funds will be prioritized for funding. Projects are requested to be completed within a 12-to-18-month period with sufficient justification required for extended project duration.
The deadline for proposal submission is 5 p.m. CT on Dec. 31. For questions, please contact Dr. Megan Niederwerder at mniederwerder@swinehealth.org or 785-452-8270 or Dr. Lisa Becton at lbecton@swinehealth.org or 515-724-9491.
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