Wait and see? Biosecurity decision-making under disease risk – Part 2

In the previous science page, Gabriela Bucini, Scott C. Merrill, Eric M. Clark, and Julie M. Smith of the Social Ecological Gaming and Simulation Lab at the University of Vermont shared that the decisions made by the players in different scenarios of disease risk, risk communication strategies, and neighboring farm biosecurity implementation allowed us to identify three prominent behavioral groups. The risk tolerant players invested very little in biosecurity in contrast to risk averse players who invested consistently throughout the simulation to protect their farms. Our third category, risk opportunists, primarily invested in biosecurity during high risk scenarios but limited investments during rounds with lower chance of infection.

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Wait and see? Biosecurity decision-making under disease risk – Part 1

This short science page offers insights on decision making where a wait-and-see attitude induces a delay in biosecurity investments and implementation, which creates instability and uncertainty in the industry’s ability and capacity to control disease. Written by Gabriela Bucini, Scott C. Merrill, Eric M. Clark, and Julie M. Smith of the Social Ecological Gaming and Simulation Lab, University of Vermont.

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Leman Conference in Spanish Invitation

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.

During November 16-17th 2022, the University of Minnesota Swine Group will be hosting our second virtual Leman Conference exclusively in Spanish,
which includes important topics in health, biosecurity, production, emerging diseases, and sustainability. This virtual event is a great opportunity for
Spanish-speaking individuals working in U.S. pig production systems. The conference will have two keynote sessions that will cover the current ASF
situation in the Dominican Republic and the nutritional and feeding strategies when feed ingredients are costly. In addition, we will have 17
presentations dedicated to respiratory disease control; Senecavirus diagnostics, control, and elimination; strategies for decreasing mortality in all
production stages; best biosecurity practices, and sustainability programs presented by industry leaders. We will also have a diagnostic workshop that
will feature a practical necropsy session with best practices to perform post-mortem examinations. Monday is the last day to register! Register online at: https://lemanespanol.umn.edu/

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Science Page: Salmonella antimicrobial resistance and emergence of a new serotype S.4,[5],12:i:-

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.

Monitoring antimicrobial resistance is a research topic of utmost importance in the swine industry. Dr. Julio Alvarez at the University of Minnesota is leading some of this effort and this week, his team is presenting the latest results regarding Salmonella antimicrobial resistance in the strains isolated by the University of Minnesota – Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory between the years 2006 and 2015 and the emergence of a new serotype S.4,[5],12:i:-

Key Points

  • Swine is the reservoir most commonly associated with the S.4,[5],12:i: serotype.
  • The prevalence of S. agona and S. 4,[5],12:i:- in isolates of swine origin recovered from clinical samples received at the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) in 2006-2015 has increased.
  • In these serotypes an increased proportion of isolates were resistant to ceftiofur and enrofloxacin, compared with other serotypes.
  • The increase in the frequency of isolation of the S.4,[5],12:i:- serotype in humans may be paralleled by a similar increase in swine clinical samples received in the MVDL.

The information synthesized in the figure below is the evolution, over the years, of the percentages of Salmonella isolated at the UMN – VDL, belonging to each of other the following serotypes: typhimurium, agona, derby, typhymurium var5, and 4,5,12:i:-. The increase in the proportion of S.4,5,12:i:- can be seen starting back in 2011-2012.

Salmonella antibiotic resistance

Click here to read the full report about Salmonella serotypes isolated at the UMN – VDL

Science page: Are patterns of spatiotemporal clustering of PRRSv consistent across years?

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 studied a subset of MSHMP participants located in the Midwest to test if some location/time combinations are more prominent during certain seasons across the years. Data from 358 farms in 10 management systems from 2011 to 2015 was compiled to look for clusters.

The clusters found by the SaTScanTM software are represented below. The red circles represent clusters identified in the time period from January to June, whereas blue ones are July to December. We can note that clusters were identified every year but that they varied with time.

Significant PRRS spatial cluster midwest
Significant spatial clusters for PRRSV in the Midwest between 2011 and 2015.

Key points

  • PRRS cases are recognized to be seasonal and aggregated by geographical space.
  • However, spatiotemporal patterns of PRRS clustering were not consistent across years.
  • Drivers of infection spread may vary over the years.

Future uses for this model can be found in the entire report