Canadian Pork Council Receives Funding as Part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program

May 27, 2024

(Ottawa, Ont.) - The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is pleased to announce that it has been selected to receive funding under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program (ASFIPP). The CPC's ASFIPP initiative, titled "Development of a low-cost pen-side assay for rapid detection of African Swine Fever Virus," is a crucial step in enhancing the swine industry's readiness against the threat of African Swine Fever (ASF).

The primary objective of the CPC's ASFIPP is to develop an ASFMeter, a portable and low-cost tool, for rapidly diagnosing ASF in the field. This innovative program, in collaboration with McMaster University, aims to revolutionize ASF detection by providing a convenient and effective solution for on-site testing.
"The support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is instrumental in advancing our efforts to combat African Swine Fever,” said Canadian Pork Council chair René Roy. “Our focus on developing a low-cost pen-side assay aligns with our commitment to proactive and innovative solutions for the swine industry."

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Video: Season 7, Episode 4: Using Data to Better Manage PRRSV

PRRS continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing pork producers, but each outbreak can also provide valuable information about herd recovery, losses and the management decisions that follow.In this episode, Dr. Ana Paula Serafini Poeta Silva, a research scientist at Iowa State University, discusses the PRRS Outbreak Management Program, or POMP, and what researchers have learned from a database containing information from more than 700 breeding-herd outbreaks. She explains how POMP uses data from individual outbreaks to establish benchmarks producers can use to better understand what to expect during recovery, including potential losses and the time it may take for a herd to return to baseline production. The conversation also explores how PRRS management has evolved, including the role of live virus inoculation and modified-live vaccines.