Farms.com Home   News

Swine Health Information Center Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report Expanded to Include Influenza A Virus

The Swine Health Information Center's monthly Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report has been expanded and now includes data on the prevalence of Influenza A virus in U.S. swine herds. The Swine Health Information Center's Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring report is distributed through its monthly enewsletter and can be accessed through its web site at swinehealth.org.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder notes the report released this month was the 50th since the system was creation.

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

Over the years that this reporting system has been in place there has been an increase in the number of diagnostic labs that have been involved but also the number of pathogens and so we have added Influenza A to our detection system, and so we're getting real time data on the Influenza A detection in the U.S. swine herd. There was additional funding that was put forth to add Influenza A.

Of course, we're always looking for the priorities for the industry to make sure that we are covering the pathogens of interest in these disease monitoring reports. Influenza A is really considered still one of the three major causes of respiratory disease in U.S. swine and that also includes Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and PRRS virus. From the advisory group's perspective, Influenza A and the addition of this virus was really an important component to broaden and increase the number of disease agents that were included in the report.

Then the next step is to look at how do you standardise the data across the different diagnostic labs so that it can be reported as aggregate data that really gives producers and veterinarians an idea of the general diagnostics and detection for Influenza A across U.S. swine.

Source : Farmscape

Trending Video

Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.