New projects strengthen preparedness and monitoring for US swine farms
The Swine Health Information Center has launched a new round of research projects to strengthen disease preparedness and help pork producers protect their herds from emerging health risks. These projects align with the Center’s 2025 Plan of Work, which focuses on improving swine health information, monitoring risks, responding to new diseases, advancing surveillance, and updating disease prioritization tools.
Twelve newly funded projects began in fall 2025 and will continue for nine to 15 months. Together, they aim to provide science-based information, stronger detection tools, and practical resources for producers facing disease challenges.
Several projects focus on improving swine health information systems. One project expands the Domestic Swine Disease Surveillance laboratory network by including the Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Another transfers Iowa State University’s diagnostic code system to the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory to support broader monthly reporting.
Other projects aim to monitor and reduce disease risks on farms and during animal movement. Research teams are studying trailer contamination at cull sow harvest facilities, evaluating dock protocols that could reduce viral spread to trailers, and examining pathogen contamination around dead animal disposal boxes on disease-negative farms. Another project explores how animal movement, trucks, and personnel contribute to PRRSV outbreaks.
SHIC is also supporting work on emerging disease response. One study evaluates the accuracy of a Japanese encephalitis virus diagnostic test using field samples from Australia, helping prepare tools for future threats.
Surveillance projects include characterizing a PEDV variant recently seen in the Midwest, improving global monitoring of PRRSV-2 variants, and upgrading a workflow that detects swine respiratory viruses in oral fluid samples.
Two additional projects address swine disease matrices. Researchers will test PCR tools that differentiate PEDV strain types and help modernize pathogen prioritization using a new risk-based framework for long-term use.
These projects were selected from 57 proposals submitted by 19 institutions, supported by $1.5 million in available funding. SHIC also plans to announce six additional co-funded projects soon. The combined efforts aim to strengthen disease prevention, preparedness, and response across the US swine industry.
Photo Credit: pexels-matthiaszomer