Swine Transport Vehicle Rerouting Shown Effective in Reducing Potential for Disease Transmission

Mar 10, 2025

Research conducted by North Carolina State University has shown swine transport vehicle rerouting to be an effective strategy to help reduce the number of contacts between farms, reducing the potential for disease transmission. A North Carolina State University study, conducted through the Swine Health Information Center Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, examined the effectiveness of rerouting swine transport vehicles to reduce the risk of disease transmission between farms.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says researchers used computer modeling to assess data from a variety of sources to look at vehicle movements to slaughter, to or between farms, to cleaning and disinfection stations, to feed mills and to parking to identify and evaluate contacts between infected and noninfected farms.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

The project identified that implementing a rerouting system could lead to a decrease in the number of at-risk contacts between farms. What does that mean? That means there's a reduction in the potential for spreading a disease and so that means there was reduced interaction between farms from other networks and network communities that may exist outside of the normal within farm operations.

It does highlight that, even with contact potential, cleaning and disinfection and rerouting can really help to reduce the potential spread and risk for disease transmission. This information can be used by producers and their veterinarians and even transport staff and other transporters to look at how can each individual system asses their level of transportation and what are the things that they can do, even through rerouting and increased cleaning and disinfection, to reduce their own risk and chance of disease spread.

The full report can be accessed through the Swine Health Information Center's February eNewletter which can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.

Source : Farmscape.ca

Video: Food Inflation and Pork Demand - Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, discusses how food inflation is reshaping Canadian protein demand. He explains why pork remains competitively priced, consumer behavior, and why transparency, AI-assisted shopping, and protein demand will matter in the years ahead. Listen now on all major platforms!

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Meet the guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in Dalhousie University's Faculty of Management and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab. His research focuses on food distribution, food policy, food safety, food security, and traceability. Dr. Charlebois has written four books and more than 500 peer-reviewed and scientific articles. He holds a BComm from the Royal Military College, an MBA from UQAM, and a DBA from the University of Sherbrooke. Learn more from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.