From the person doing the power washing to the owner of the farm business, everyone involved in a pork-production system plays a vital role in keeping the operation...
Regular biosecurity checks with a close look at filtration and ventilation systems will help prevent the spread of airborne pathogens like porcine reproductive and...
The latest disease outbreaks fueled by new disease variants are good reminders that the best biosecurity plans must include strategies to keep disease contained within...
It’s well known today that several swine viruses can survive in feed ingredients under laboratory research conditions. But how does that translate to the real world?
A hog operation’s biosecurity plan needs regular attention to prevent lapses that can lead to a devastating outbreak. How do you make biosecurity a priority and...
Biosecurity ranks high on the list of concerns for swine veterinarians who want hog units tightened up to reduce disease. But the cost of new improvements can be...
It’s not unrealistic to say that if you checked the nasal cavities or tonsils of any group of pigs, you would find Strep suis. It is on virtually every hog farm.
Pablo Moreno, DVM, Swine Veterinary and Production International Service LLC, recently spoke with Pig Health Today about implementing best biosecurity practices.
In spite of advanced biosecurity protocols, the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) continues to plague global pork producers with...
Taking care of sick animals is no fun for anybody. For that reason, and so many more, biosecurity is a high priority for Clayton Johnson, DVM, with Carthage Veterinary...
Establishing effective internal biosecurity protocols is critical to breaking the circular spread of influenza and other pathogens between sow farms and growing sites,...
Swine viruses have been shown to hitch a ride in feed and feed ingredients, thereby increasing the infection risk. To address this, the swine industry has applied a...
Water is as important for the growth and health of pigs as feed. As such, it makes sense to test a hog unit’s water just as frequently as the feed, according to Jim...
Prevention, early identification and immediate initiation of supportive care and treatment of neonatal scours are critical, says Deb Murray, DVM, veterinary services...
Biosecurity has become the all-inclusive protector of swine herd health. But even with all the biosecurity research, protocols and training, disease outbreaks occur...
Biosecurity protocols are critical to keeping the US hog herd healthy, and one of the regular tasks is to disinfect a wide range of supplies entering the farm, but how...
With influenza A virus (IAV-S) in swine continuing to cause performance losses on US pig farms, veterinarians have taken up the mantle to find solutions.
Grow-finish farms are the last segment of hog production to enact strict biosecurity protocols. That needs to change, reports Mike Eisenmenger, DVM, Swine Vet Center,...
Nine years of data from the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project show farms with air-filtering systems have fewer outbreaks of PRRS than farms without filters.
Rotavirus infections in pigs have been around for decades. But in the last several years, the virus has re-appeared, causing diarrhea in neonatal and post-weaned pigs...
An effective biosecurity strategy is not a stagnant process. It is continuously influenced by changes in pig-flows, disease pressures, virus evolution, emerging health...
The first lesson of biosecurity, according to Andrea Pitkin, DVM, health assurance veterinarian for PIC, is to learn, modify and adapt because new threats can surface...
Biosecurity on hog farms is serious business, and it’s no secret that success hinges on how well protocols are carried out. For years, emphasis has been on building a...
Maintaining good biosecurity has long been key to advancing the health, well-being and productivity of hog farms, but the threat of African swine fever has raised the...
Biosecurity is one of those on-farm topics that gets a lot of time and attention, but it can easily fall apart in the day-to-day reality of managing pigs.
The AVMA has published its first ever Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals to help veterinarians support animal welfare in situations where the difficult...
With African swine fever (ASF) well established in China and parts of Europe, US pork producers need to take steps now to protect their interests in the face of an...
As the spread of African swine fever (ASF) across Asia shows no signs of slowing, US pork producers have watched with a nervous eye toward international commerce and...
Determining the cause of a peculiar health condition in pigs is not unlike a crime scene investigation (CSI). The veterinarian, producer and diagnosticians search for...
This is the first in a two-part series on foreign animal diseases. Part 2 looks at what the US pork industry is doing to head off an FAD outbreak and to prepare for...
After a few years of limited activity, PED remained quiet in southwest Minnesota until last spring, when four sow farms in southwest Minnesota broke with the
Porcine delta coronavirus (PDCOV) may not be as devastating as its relative, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), but the negative impact on production is motivation...
A big step in preventing transmission of foreign animal diseases (FAD) through feed is to reduce virus-survival rates in the feed, explained Scott Dee, DVM, PhD,...
China has encountered its first case of African Swine Fever (ASF), according to reports from animal health officials in the country. The highly contagious disease was...
At the center of any biosecurity program is the goal of preventing pathogens or diseases from entering and infecting a swine herd. Perhaps no disease has challenged...
Many sows sold into the cull sow market become “frequent travelers” and pose a serious risk of disease transmission if a foreign animal-disease (FAD) outbreak...
The US cull-sow market could threaten containment plans if a foreign animal-disease (FAD) outbreak occurred in the US, according to Jim Lowe, DVM, associate professor...
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) remains one of the most costly viruses infecting US herds. But an Iowa State University study showed the annual...
According to an Iowa State University study, the potential revenue losses to US pork and beef industries from an FMD outbreak would run $12.8 billion annually with...
Each year, approximately 25% of all the pork produced in the US is exported to other countries. Imagine if access to those markets closed abruptly. That’s the...
The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) outbreak that devastated many US hog farms over the past 4 years served as a wake-up call for the pork industry to be more...
If a foreign animal disease (FAD) were to hit the US pork industry, the impact could be dramatic and widespread — most likely resulting in government-mandated...
No one wants to introduce a harmful pathogen into a herd, but the reality is the more pig exposure that a person has, the riskier that visitor becomes, even if he or...
Every year, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) infects an estimated 25% to 45% of sow herds in the US, according to Clayton Johnson, DVM, Carthage...
For biosecurity to be effective, everyone working within the farm needs to understand and comply with the defined protocols. In reality, a person’s attitude can make...
Improving transportation biosecurity may be the last frontier the swine industry needs to conquer to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. According to Butch...
The biosecurity of swine feed is important for producing healthy animals and safe pork. But until 2013, feed was considered a low-risk vehicle for transmitting viral...
Keeping a hog farm free of pathogens can be a daunting task for producers. The process to evaluate potential risks and then undertake biosecurity measures to manage the...
Understanding the transmission route of a disease pathogen, how long it’s infective, its survivability in the environment and routes of infection all build the...
Unloading docks at processing plants may be one way that livestock trailers become contaminated with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV).
Contaminated hog trailers are now known to be partially responsible for spreading the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in 2013 as it emerged in the US.
As a child, when the swine disease pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s disease) forced his father to sell all the family’s pigs and start over, Andrew Bents got the calling to...