Swine Health Information Center Celebrates Decade of Work

Moving into its second decade of operation, the Swine Health Information Center remains committed to its core mission of protecting and enhancing the health of the U.S. swine herd. The Swine Health Information Center was created in 2015 with funding from the Pork Checkoff and in July the center observed its 10th anniversary.

SHIC Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says the center continues to focus on its core mission, that being to protect and enhance the health of the U.S. swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communication, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data and targeted research investments.

Quote-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:

Really from inception SHIC was envisioned not merely as a reactive entity but as a proactive force, trying to anticipate animal health challenges before they're introduced into the U.S. swine herd or before they become an endemic disease. We wanted to be really proactive in our activities.

Recognizing the vulnerability of the U.S. swine herd to introduction of disease really occurred because of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus that came into this country and spread very quickly in 2013. There were industry leaders and researchers at the time that formulated the idea of a dedicated center that was focused solely on anticipating and mitigating these threats before they could inflict widespread damage.

It was really the foresight of the National Pork Board to create the Swine Health Information Center after PEDv was introduced because they didn't want to be faced with another disease introduction that we weren't prepared for, that we weren't aware of and so that's really our mission and continued existence today.

Dr. Niederwerder applauds the input of the many producers and veterinarians who have been part of SHIC, including its nine-member board of directors and those who sit on two working groups.She notes the board of directors provides the governance for the Swine Health Information Center while those who sit on the Monitoring and Analysis Working Group and Preparedness and Response Working Group provide input into SHIC's activities and research priorities.