This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.
Researchers Rachel Schambow, Colin Yoder, Maria Sol Perez Aguirreburualde, and Andres Perez from the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Minnesota share details about “Vets to Vets: African Swine Fever”, a workshop that brought together experts on ASF.
The full report and lessons learned from the workshop can be found here: https://z.umn.edu/9azu.
Key Points:
- Facilitated by CAHFS moderators, six international vets with extensive ASF field experience met with ten US swine veterinarians to share practical information about ASF control.
- Speed is critical for ASF control: have a management structure in place before an outbreak.
- Intense, comprehensive, and consistent biosecurity is needed to prevent outbreaks.
- Early detection and surveillance requires daily observation and timely diagnostic testing.
Background
Much important, practical knowledge has been gained on the control of African Swine Fever (ASF) by those in the field in affected countries. However, this information is typically difficult to access because it is sensitive, not published, or not widely available. The objective of the Vets to Vets (V2V) workshop was to use CAHFS’s extensive global network to connect international experts in ASF control with US swine veterinarians, ultimately to enhance the US swine industry’s ASF preparedness.
V2V Workshop
The first V2V workshop was held alongside the 2023 Leman Swine Conference. Twenty-two participants attended, including six experts from three ASF-affected countries, six moderators, and ten US swine veterinarians. The participants were split into small groups and discussed a range of topics, including ASF biosecurity, surveillance, clinical presentation, disinfection, and carcass disposal. A whole group discussion was held afterward to review and expand on key points from each group. Moderators facilitated the conversations and recorded notes throughout the event.
Key Lessons: Below are some highlights of the workshop. See the full report for the complete summary.
- Designated pig transfer areas on the farm or off-site transfer stations reduce on-farm traffic.
- Trucks are cleaned through wash stations and/or truck bakers and tracked via GPS to confirm. Many large companies designate trucks for specific purposes (e.g., feed, pig movements, etc.).
- Early detection strategies of daily observations for off-feed, febrile, or recumbent sows and immediate removals have reduced site mortalities. Attenuated strains are more difficult to detect.
- Personnel may be required to take up to 4 showers to enter farms including overnight quarantine.
- Employees typically work longer shifts, from as little as 4 days to up to 30 days at a time. These farms use “campus-style” setups to house and care for their employees.
- All items brought onto the farm are disinfected, such as through UV light boxes/rooms, fumigation, or ozone rooms. Disposable/one-use items are used to reduce between-pig spread.
- Feed mitigants like formaldehyde are commonly used, along with hold times up to 30 days.
Thank you to the National Pork Board, who funded and supported this event, and to the moderators, experts, and US veterinarians that participated. To learn more about future V2V and educational opportunities, please consider completing CAHFS’s interest form at http://tinyurl.com/5x5m3nak or by contacting CAHFS researcher and veterinarian, Dr. Rachel Schambow at scham083@umn.edu.