Biosecurity
For many, 2021 will not just be remembered as another year we battled COVID-19. It will also be remembered as the year African swine fever found its way back into the Western Hemisphere.
Although it’s important to focus our biosecurity efforts on the farms, now is a good time of year to review important feed mill biosecurity in these five key areas, says Laura Greiner of Iowa State University.
Cutting the numbers of wild boar will be critical in combating the pig disease African swine fever in Germany.
China’s Hebei province said on Wednesday that it has confirmed a new African swine fever outbreak in pigs being transported from other provinces.
France has signed an agreement with China to ensure pork trade can continue even if an outbreak of African swine fever occurs, in a breakthrough for European countries threatened by the pig disease.
His warnings have gone largely unheeded, while wild pigs rapidly expand across Western Canada, with no nationally coordinated science-based containment strategy in place. For Brook, it’s a recipe for disaster.
USDA’s APHIS issued a revised Federal Order to allow certain swine products to safely move to the mainland U.S. from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as long as they meet certain conditions.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is awarding more than $16.3 million to 64 projects with states, universities and other partners to strengthen programs to protect animal health.
Just in time to prevent and prepare for seasonal PRRS outbreaks, a team led by North Carolina State developed and calibrated a mathematical model for transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.
USDA’s APHIS is leading a collaborative effort to study antimicrobial use and resistance on Midwest commercial swine farms focusing on use and resistance related to animal health and production-related indicators.
“Managing endemic enteric pathogens in swine populations requires accurate case definitions, proper sampling and appropriate diagnostic testing,” says Eric Burrough, Iowa State Diagnostic Laboratory.
Items and food entering a farm can carry pathogens that can be transmitted to swine and have severe consequences. Here are a few tips from Kayla Henness, DVM, with The Maschhoffs about food entry and UV chambers.
The Swine Disease Reporting System initiative now includes more than 950,000 unique submissions tested by PCR for the five U.S. porcine endemic agents. Here’s an update.
Federal agents foiled plans for 47 roosters and hens that tried to cross the U.S. border at the Laredo Port of Entry on Nov. 12.
Megan Niederwerder, assistant professor at Kansas State University, will lead a new $513,000 research project to characterize African swine fever virus survival and transmission after introduction onto a farm.
The discovery of another case of ASF in farm pigs in Germany in an area previously free of the disease could make negotiations about lifting existing import bans with China and other major buyers more difficult.
There’s no question interest in feed biosecurity is increasing. Research has confirmed diseases can be transmitted through contaminated feed, providing an avenue for introduction to susceptible pigs via ingestion.
Introduction of foreign animal disease viruses in domestic feed manufacturing facilities has the potential to unknowingly disseminate viruses. Researchers are studying how to best decontaminate facilities, SHIC says.
Farm workers can play a significant role in the transmission of influenza A virus within sow farms, according to Gustavo Lopez, DVM, a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota.
Often in production herds, especially sow farms with experienced staff, we build internal farm system language or “barn speak” that can take on a life of its own. It’s time to clear it up, says Bill Hollis, DVM.
Researchers developed a quantitative risk assessment model to estimate the probability that one or more corn or soybean meal ocean vessels contaminated with ASF virus would be imported into the U.S. annually.
Whether you’re talking about pigs or people, COVID-19 or porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome (PRRS), zinc keeps coming up in the conversation as tool to help fight these serious health challenges.
Alexis Main, graduate student at Oklahoma State University and 2021 College Aggies Online participant, clears up myths about what goes on behind closed doors on a pig farm and lessons she’s learned about biosecurity.
Ohio’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory will now contribute data to the Swine Disease Reporting System to enhance capabilities as a surveillance tool and for early detection of pathogens of economic consequence.
African swine fever (ASF) is a nasty bug and it’s getting closer to the U.S. The highly contagious viral infection doesn’t infect humans, but it is 100% fatal to hogs.
Bulgarian veterinary authorities on Monday reported a new outbreak of African swine fever at an industrial farm that has a total of 180 pigs in the southern village of Radinovo.
A newly discovered low virulent, genotype 1, African swine fever (ASF) virus is causing chronic infections in China’s pig herd, says ASF expert Dan Rock at the University of Illinois.
As novel coronavirus (COVID-19) makes its way into the U.S., are you prepared for some of the more likely scenarios that could impact your operation?
As we get ready to close out a roller coaster of a year, there are a few pieces of advice I’ve recently heard I wanted to pass on as we launch into a new year of foreign animal disease preparedness and prevention.
The goal of the program is to create impactful and innovative outreach tools. This will better enable livestock veterinarians to recognize and address toxicology problems in food animal species.