Minnesota – Swine in Minnesota

On the cutting edge of swine health

For 26 years, hands-on swine necropsy training at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has taught vital sample gathering techniques and aligned veterinary expertise with industry needs.

Veterinary pathologist Stephanie Rossow (center) conducts a necropsy demonstration on a dead pig.

In a matter of seconds, veterinary pathologist Stephanie Rossow’s knife slices through the skin of a deceased pig laid out on an examination table in the necropsy lab of the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Predicting the monthly risk of PRRS in Minnesota counties using past MSHMP surveillance data

This week, we are sharing a report from recent PhD graduate Kaushi Kanankege about predicting the monthly risk of PRRS.

Key points

High risk of PRRS occurrence was observed in counties where >25% of MSHMP farms were fully or partially air-filtered, have high number of hog farms, and have farms belonged to multiple production systems.
PRRS occurrence association with air filters may be due to attempts to mitigate risk in prevalent areas.
Further research is required to understand the space-time association of the windborne local spread of the virus and the installation of air filters.

What if African Swine Fever came to Minnesota?

The Center for Food Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Minnesota released a new video on African Swine Fever and what the consequences would be if it ever came to Minnesota. Dr. Marie Culhane from the University of Minnesota and Dr. Beth Thompson, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health discuss how the state prepared for this eventuality.

Click on the video to listen to their exchange. (14:56 min)