To better understand the ASFv spread risk to/from US pork harvest facilities, the Secure Food Systems Team at the University of Minnesota, consisting of Drs. Cesar Corzo, Marie Culhane, Carol Cardona and Timothy Goldsmith, has embarked on a pathway analysis as the first step in that risk assessment process. This first step is required when tackling the often complex and variable methods of moving pork, pork products, byproducts and waste from a harvest facility.
Continue reading “Invest in a full set of comprehensive processes to fully understand African swine fever risk”Tag: risk
Risk-based management of PRRS and PED
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.
Today, we are sharing the work of Dr. Kaushi Kanankege, post-doctoral associate in the VanderWaal lab.
Objective
We conducted a survey to determine swine industry perspectives on a) perceived importance of risk-modifying factors contributing to between-farm transmission of PRRS and PED, and b) prevention/mitigation measures that should be prioritized on a farm that was forecasted to be at high risk of breaking.
Link to the survey: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3C9lQKVjyCrA9cp
**We need more survey answers! Please click the link and participate in this 8-question short survey.
Continue reading “Risk-based management of PRRS and PED”Growing African swine fever virus raises risk considerations
Dr. John Deen fron the University of Minnesota recently wrote a column in the National Hog Farmer about African Swine Fever virus and what the recent reports about virus spread mean for the industry.
Continue reading “Growing African swine fever virus raises risk considerations”SHIC and the UMN Help Uncover Risk for ASF Introduction into the US via Air Passengers’ Luggage
In 2018, African swine fever (ASF) spread into Western Europe, and, for the first time, into China and Southeast Asia. Such dramatic change in the global epidemiological conditions of ASF has resulted in concerns the disease may continue to spread into disease-free regions, such as the US. An analysis funded by the Swine Health Information Center and National Pork Board estimated the risk for introduction of ASF virus into the US through smuggling of pork in air passengers’ luggage. The analysis was conducted by the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota (OIE collaborating center on capacity building) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain (OIE reference laboratory for ASF).
Continue reading “SHIC and the UMN Help Uncover Risk for ASF Introduction into the US via Air Passengers’ Luggage”Science Page: Assessing the relative vulnerability of swine breeding herds to the introduction of PRRS virus
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.
This week we are sharing a report by Dr. Daniel Linhares’ lab at Iowa State University. The report summarizes the findings of his study regarding the factors making a sow farm vulnerable for PPRS introduction.
Key Points:
- A model to quantify and identify biosecurity vulnerability in breeding herds is now available.
- Events related to swine movements, transmission by air and water, and people movements were the variables most associated with PRRS outbreak.
- Biosecurity vulnerability scores may help producers/veterinarians prioritize biosecurity investments.
Study Summary:
Herd-specific biosecurity assessments are needed to determine herd-specific risk for PRRS outbreaks. Thus, we developed and validated a biosecurity vulnerability score (BVS) that measures the relative vulnerability of swine breeding herds to PRRSv introduction. The BVS was based on a multi-criteria decision algorithm that ranked risk events associated with outbreaks. A comprehensive biosecurity assessment was used to obtain information of the biosecurity practices from each participating herd. The practices performed in each herd were weighted by the relative importance of each event obtained from an expert opinion panel resulting in a score that identifies the events that should be prioritized. In two independent data sets, the scores consistently revealed that farms with higher scores had a higher frequency of PRRS outbreaks. In addition, results suggest that events related to swine movements,transmission by air and water, and people movements should be prioritized.
Follow-up study:
We are developing a new screening tool to validate the minimum number of questions associated with frequency of PRRS outbreak. Study farms will be asked to fill out a short survey. This can help producers and veterinarians to identify sites at relatively higher risk of PRRSv introduction.
To enroll or to request additional clarification please contact: Gustavo Silva at Iowa State University (gustavos-at-iastate.edu)