By Abbey Canon
The Swine Health Information Center, in collaboration with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff, recently funded five additional projects addressing research priorities and topics for the H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Program. Goals of the program are to enhance prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response capabilities for H5N1 influenza in the US swine herd. The first request for proposals for this program was announced in November 2024 and resulted in funding of 10 H5N1 research projects in 2025 totaling $2.2 million. A second RFP was announced in January 2026 outlining seven priorities not yet adequately addressed by the first 10 projects. By March 2026, a total of 42 proposals were received from 26 different organizations across three countries.
The priority areas addressed through the newly funded projects include diagnostic surveillance, introduction and transmission risks, biosecurity, pork safety, and production impact. Funding timely research is an essential component of SHIC’s mission to provide project outcomes that drive action for emerging disease prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response for the US swine industry.
SHIC/FFAR/NPB H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Program projects funded and initiated in response to the second RFP include:
Diagnostic Surveillance
Beyond the Snout: Validating Oral, Mammary, and Environmental Sampling for Rapid H5N1 Incursion Detection
- Principal Investigator: Andrew Bowman, The Ohio State University
- Objective: Validate existing swine surveillance infrastructure for the rapid detection of H5N1 and characterize viral persistence in the production environment.
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