umn – Page 106 – Swine in Minnesota

Beer and Bacon conversations: a new session at the Leman swine conference!

The organizing committee of the Allen D. Leman swine conference is proud to present a new session: Beer and Bacon conversations! The goal of this unique session is to invite industry leaders to share personal views and experiences with participants in a fun and relaxed environment.

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This year, we are honored that Dr. Matthew Turner, veterinarian and head of pork live operations at JBS, accepted our invitation.

A graduate of North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Turner joined JBS after being a staff swine veterinarian for Prestage Farms for more than 10 years. He was recognized by the American Association of Swine Veterinarian as the 2014 Swine Practitioner of the year and presented the Dr. Alex Hogg Memorial Lecture at the 2017 AASV annual meeting. Dr. Turner is currently an at large member of the Board of Directors of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC).

The session will be held at the InterContinental hotel on Sunday, September 16th at 5:15pm. Dr. Marie Culhane will get the conversation started but participation from the audience is more than welcome!

Seating for this event is limited. Do mot miss out by registering today!

Congratulations to the recipients of the Morrison and Pijoan fellowships!

Please, join us in congratulating this year’s recipient of the Pijoan fellowship, Dr. Gustavo Lopez and our first recipient of the Morrison fellowship, Dr. Alyssa Betlach.

Pijoan fellow

Gustavo Lopez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He obtained his DVM in 2010 from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and did two short internships at the University of Minnesota which influenced him into focusing to swine health and production. Gustavo then moved to Russia to work for the largest meat production company. During his 6-year experience he performed different roles such as wean-to-finish production manager, head of genetic services and head of health services. Currently, Gustavo is pursuing a PhD under the guidance of Dr. Torremorell, focusing our research on swine influenza virus.

“I did not have the opportunity of meeting Dr. Pijoan, but i have seen the legacy he has left in the University of Minnesota swine group and the swine industry itself. For me it is an honor to be awarded this fellowship and i intend to live up to the name, by focusing my research towards finding solutions to economical important swine diseases.”

Morrison fellow

Alyssa_Betlach

This year, as a part of the Morrison legacy initiative at the University of Minnesota, we created a fellowship for graduate students in honor of Dr. Bob Morrison.

Alyssa Betlach is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and part-time associate veterinarian for Swine Vet Center. She is originally from Owatonna, MN where she first gained an interest in swine production and medicine while working on a 1,500 sow farm. Alyssa obtained her DVM from the University of Minnesota this spring, while concurrently pursuing graduate studies and a certificate in swine medicine. Her graduate thesis focuses on the characterization of M. hyopneumoniae in swine herds using molecular diagnostics and epidemiology under the guidance of Dr. Pieters.

“I am truly humbled and honored to receive the Morrison fellowship award. It was an absolute privilege to have known Dr. Morrison and to have received his mentorship throughout my veterinary education. I hope to continue Bob’s legacy through my collaboration with swine veterinarians, academia, and producers towards the development of science driven resources for swine health and production advancement. I am excited to expand my knowledge of the industry and to experience the opportunities made available by the fellowship. Thank you for selecting me as a recipient of this award and to those that have inspired me during my academic and professional endeavors.”

We are truly excited to have such talented graduate students pursuing high quality work to help solve the swine industry challenges!

Science Page: Effects of gestation pens versus stalls and wet versus dry feed on air contaminants in swine production (Part 1)

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 part of a scientific paper from faculty in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, regarding the effect of gestation pens versus group housing and dry versus wet feed on air contaminants. This week we are sharing the first half of the results, join us next week to read the second part.

Keypoints:

Pollutant levels increased as ventilation rates decreased during the cold months.
Pen housing lead to higher levels of NH3, respirable dust, and endotoxin when compared to stalls.

Objective

Evolving production practices in the swine industry may alter the working environment. This research project characterized the influence of stall versus pen gestation housing on air contaminant concentrations.

Methods

Eight-hour time-weighted ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, respirable dust, respirable endotoxin, and carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature were measured
regularly at stationary locations throughout a year in a facility with parallel gestation stall and open pen housing. Hazard indices were calculated using ammonia,
hydrogen sulfide, and endotoxin concentrations and relevant occupational exposure limits.

Results

Due to reductions in ventilation rates as outdoor temperatures decreased, season affected pollutant levels more than other factors. Concentrations were greater during the
winter than summer (Figure 1). Ammonia, dust, and endotoxin were 25%, 43%, and 67% higher, respectively, on average, in the room with gestation pens than in the room with stalls. While individual contaminant concentrations were generally below regulatory limits, hazard index calculations suggest that the effects of combined exposures on respiratory health may pose a risk to farm workers. Additionally, elevated levels of respirable endotoxin and hydrogen sulfide were detected during power washing.

Conclusions

Ventilation changes in response to seasonal requirements influenced air contaminant concentrations more than production practices, especially housing type.

You can also read the full article on the journal’s website.

Best of Leman 2017 series #8: B. Thompson – 25 years of experience in sow health and longevity

We launched a new series on the blog in October. Once a month, we are sharing with you a presentation given at the 2017 Allen D. Leman swine conference, on topics that the swine group found interesting, innovative or that lead to great discussions.

Our 8th presentation is by Dr. Bob Thompson, the 2017 recipient of the Science in Practice award, regarding 25 years of experience in sow health and longevity.

To listen to this talk, please click on the image below.

Science Page: Porcine Deltacoronavirus positive cases in the US: Where are we today?

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 from the MSHMP team regarding the prevalence of Porcine Deltacoronavirus in the US herds participation in MSHMP.

Key Points

Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) was first reported in the US in 2014.
Monitoring of PDCoV cases showed that it is still present in pig herds from the United States.
PDCoV testing and reporting must continue in order to increase our understanding of the disease.

Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) was first detected in the US in 2014. The complete genome of a United States’ PDCoV isolate was characterized by Marthaler et al. (2014), which was ~99% similar to a virus detected in Hong Kong.

Clinical signs may be similar to Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and Transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV), including acute diarrhea, mild to moderate vomiting, and ultimately death especially in neonatal pigs.

PDCoV continues to be present in the United States swine herd. Since March, 2017 PDCoV cases have been passively reported to MSHMP. Over this period of time, 37 cases have been reported by six participant systems.

MSHMP Porcine deltacoronavirus prevalence US 2017-2018 — Monthly number of PDCoV cases since March 2017

Since November 2017, 24 PDCoV cases were communicated to MSHMP, representing 67% of the reported cases.

PDCoV still occurs in the US at an apparent low number of reported cases. Swine producers and veterinarians must stay vigilant for clinical signs compatible with PDCoV and continue to test for this pathogen.