African swine fever (ASF) has spread like a slow burn across the globe since the 2007 identification in the Republic of Georgia. It moved into the EU, then into China...
Efforts are underway in Canada to develop an ASF-Free Compartments strategy allowing farms to market hogs in the event of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.
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...
The new Swine Health Improvement Program developed by pork producers, state veterinarians and USDA is designed to help the pork industry maintain exports in the face of...
Most, if not all, pigs harbor some strains of Strep suis. Lately, challenges by the bacteria appear to be on the rise, but that could be interpreted as a positive.
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?
African swine fever (ASF) has continued its steady, insidious spread in other parts of the world, but the fact that the US has remained free of the virus to-date has...
US producers have seen the devastating impact of African swine fever (ASF) in other countries. The ultimate goal is to keep it out of this country, so industry groups...
A new variant of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus 1-4-4 L1C strain is challenging veterinarians, diagnosticians and swine herds in the upper...
Kevin Eggers, DVM, technical services veterinarian at Zoetis, talked with editors of Pig Health Today about African swine fever (ASF) and the possible risks of...
Multi-disciplinary collaboration by academia, industry partners and the veterinary community is improving the diagnostics for and management of S. suis.
In fall 2019, a client called Four Star Veterinary Service clinic in Mexico, IN, and reported the loss of a lot of sows. Daniel Gascho, DVM, had several ideas of what...
The first case of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (Strep. zoo) was identified in the US pig population last fall, and it’s not an organism to be taken
For the past 18 months Scott Dee, DVM, director of research at Pipestone Veterinary Services, has been investigating whether feed mitigants can protect against the...
Whether the issue is an emerging disease such as porcine epidemic diarrhea or the threat of African swine fever, being prepared is key to minimizing the potential...
Streptococcus suis (Strep suis) is becoming more prevalent and more complex in US swine herds. The coccoid-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium is also a zoonotic disease,...
When a call came in last September reporting very high, unexplained sow mortalities, Daniel Gascho, DVM, didn’t expect it to be anything unusual, but he found quite...
As African swine fever (ASF) continues its insidious spread through China and surrounding countries, the need to keep it out of US herds becomes more imperative.
The pork industry leans heavily on diagnostics to minimize the impact of disease, but they’re especially critical for monitoring African swine fever (ASF) and other...
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...
While the spikes of Senecavirus A have plateaued in recent years, researchers in the pork industry are still confounded by the elusive virus and what triggers...
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...
Feed additives that mitigate viruses, combined with extended storage times, could help protect the US pork industry from African swine fever and other foreign animal...
The discovery of African swine fever (ASF) in China’s wild boar population in late 2018 adds a new dimension to the already ominous disease threat — one that could...
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...
A single reported incident of a trade-limiting foreign animal disease (FAD) would devastate the US pork industry, perhaps causing billions of dollars in losses.
For years, the USDA and US pork industry have had plans in place to address a foreign animal disease, but PED and ASF developments raised the priority status to a new...
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...
Since the middle of the 20th century, numerous foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreaks involving the pork industry have been recorded throughout the world.
Three diseases affecting finishing hogs — Senecavirus A, porcine sapelovirus and erysipelas — have undergone changes over the past year that warrant the pork...
If knowledge is power, being prepared is security. Both are drivers behind the Swine Health Information Center’s (SHIC) program to share information among the...
The rapid spread of ASF throughout China and other regions of the world has raised concerns the disease will ultimately make its way to the US — a development that...
Effectively addressing a foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever will take a unified effort between the US pork industry and the local, state and federal...
Foreign animal diseases (FAD) are top of mind as the ongoing outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in China, Belgium and elsewhere, have raised the stakes to implement...
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,...
News that China broke with African swine fever generated great concern for many in the US swine industry, including Scott Dee, DVM, Pipestone Veterinary Services.
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...
Vaccines for porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) currently do an adequate job of cross protecting against new genotypes of the virus, but swine veterinarians and producers...
The Seneca Valley virus (SVV) is proving to be something of a test case for swine producers’ and veterinarians’ preparedness for foreign animal diseases.
Swine veterinarians, researchers and industry leaders from around the world will gather at the European Symposium of Porcine Health Management (ESPHM), to be held May...
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...
New strains of the swine influenza virus continue to emerge, making it difficult for pork producers to manage, two experts who specialize in the disease of food animals...
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...
As porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and Seneca Valley virus surfaced within the US swine herd in recent years, it underscored the threat posed by emerging and foreign...
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...
A virtual veterinary clinic that monitors pig-disease trends and provides an early alert system for diagnostic laboratories and swine practitioners is helping the US...
Paul Sundberg, DVM, recalls sitting around a conference table in San Diego in spring 2013, talking with other swine veterinarians about a new pig disease burning...
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...
In 2013-2014, infection of pig farms with PEDV was a frequent event, even in farms using the highest level of biosecurity. In an effort to determine how this could...
A study of the way swine breeding herds were likely infected with Senecavirus A (SVA) underscores the importance of encouraging adherence to biosecurity procedures.
The National Pork Board, with major support from USDA, is creating a Secure Pork Supply plan to help America’s pig farmers respond quickly and successfully to a major...
When PEDV devastated the US hog industry in 2013, the Pipestone System remained fairly unscathed, with only a couple of farms experiencing outbreaks. Their luck changed...
An outbreak of a severe, atypical neurologic disease in 11-week-old pigs has been linked to a novel sapelovirus and may be the first case of its kind in the US,...
US pork production has gone through dramatic changes over recent decades, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the challenge that infectious disease presents. Swine...
Monitoring the spread of a pathogen is one part of disease surveillance. But early identification is another part — arguably with growing importance as millions of...