Persistence of Influenza A

Dr. Torremorell, director of the Swine Disease Eradication Center published a new study on the persistence of Influenza A virus in air and on surfaces of swine production facilities.

torremorell publi

Abstract: Indirect transmission of influenza A virus (IAV) in swine is poorly understood and information is lacking on levels of environmental exposure encountered by swine and people during outbreaks of IAV in swine barns. We characterized viral load, viability and persistence of IAV in air and on surfaces during outbreaks in swine barns. IAV was detected in pigs, air and surfaces from five confirmed outbreaks with 48% (47/98) of oral fluid, 38% (32/84) of pen railing and 43% (35/82) of indoor air samples testing positive by IAV RT-PCR. IAV was isolated from air and oral fluids yielding a mixture of subtypes (H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2). Detection of IAV RNA from air was sustained during the outbreaks with maximum levels estimated between 7 and 11 days from reported onset. Our results indicate that during outbreaks of IAV in swine, aerosols and surfaces in barns contain significant levels of IAV potentially representing an exposure hazard to both swine and people.

Link to Full Article

UMN well represented at 2016 AASV

UMN students did a fantastic job at the 2016 American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) meeting. Four students presented their projects as a poster presentation and two gave a presentation, reaching 2nd and 3rd position of the student competition. Alyssa Anderson was one of the five students awarded with the Merck-AASV Foundation scholarship.

On the faculty side, Dr. Mike Murtaugh’s research project concerning the development of  a challenge-free model to predict vaccine efficacy, was one of the four recognized by and received support from the AASV Foundation.

Congratulations to all!

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