News – Swine in Minnesota

For the good of pigs and people

For the average person, packages of pork products in the grocery store meat section represent ingredients for a meal.

For the Swine Disease Eradication Center (SDEC) at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), those products represent the culmination of years of productive partnerships between academia and the swine industry that have advanced research into eliminating deadly diseases that cost pork producers billions of dollars each year.

Rising Researcher: Marcello Melini studies viral interactions to improve swine farm biosecurity

For Marcello Melini, the role of a veterinarian doesn’t stop at the exam room door. It’s a charge that extends beyond the realm of animal health care and into human health as well.

When it came to a career path, swine health provided an opportunity for him to make an impact in areas benefiting both people and animals.

“For me, the swine field in veterinary medicine allows me to be involved in several of these areas and also provides an additional challenge, which is making the best decision for a herd based on the evidence of a few,” he says.

Explorating Routes of ASFv Entry into and Spread from Two Pork Harvest Facilities in the US

Today, we are sharing a recent publication from the Secure Food Systems team at the University of Minnesota, in which they are performing a proactive analysis regarding transmission pathways that African Swine Fever could potentially take in pork harvest facilities.

2028 IPVS Congress location changing; Minneapolis will now host in 2030

The organizing committee for the 2028 International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) is postponing the organization of the event in Minneapolis. While Minneapolis was originally selected as the host city, the committee determined that shifting the U.S. hosting opportunity to 2030 would better accommodate the needs of all attendees.

The IPVS Board is working on securing a new host country for the 2028 event and will announce its selection at the upcoming 2026 Congress, set for June 16–19 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

What you need to know about pseudorabies

By the University of Minnesota Swine Group

The reporting on April 30, 2026 of pigs positive to pseudorabies in Iowa and Texas is a good reminder that we cannot be complacent when it comes to infectious diseases.

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) causes a devastating clinical picture resembling rabies in young pigs, thus the name. This disease, also known as Aujeszky’s disease, is most severe in piglets, causing high mortality as well as tremors, seizures, paralysis, incoordination and “dog-sitting” signs. As they get older, infected pigs experience respiratory disease with fever, coughing, and pneumonia. In sows, PRV causes abortions and stillbirths and in boars the virus can be shed in semen. PRV transmits primarily by direct contact with secretions of infected pigs but other routes such as exposure to contaminated fomites or aerosols can lead to infection.