Industry Representatives Discuss Swine Surveillance

December 20, 2006 — 

Representatives from the National Pork Board, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, and allied organizations met with USDA Veterinary Services staff and the leadership of the USDA's National Surveillance Unit at the NPB offices in Des Moines, IA to discuss the development of a swine surveillance program.

During a two-day meeting held on December 19 and 20, the Swine Surveillance Working Group developed a list of diseases of importance in swine production with an emphasis on determining the need to include the diseases in a surveillance program. The USDA's National Surveillance Unit (NSU), located in Fort Collins, CO, requested an opportunity to meet with industry representatives to provide the agency with some guidance in prioritizing their efforts and resources in the development of a swine surveillance program designed to provide swine producers with an additional tool to help protect the health of their herds.

The group weighted a number of factors associated with maintaining a healthy herd and profitable production to prioritize the list of diseases. These factors recognized the importance of maintaining the export markets as well as the impacts of disease on production parameters and public health. The likelihood of disease introduction and the transmissibility of the disease agent were also considered.

The group will submit the list of diseases and their associated rankings to the NPB's Swine Health Committee for its consideration and possible modification before officially offering it to the NSU. The NSU will utilize the list of priorities, along with additional information determined in cooperation with the industry such as necessary confidence intervals and effective sampling strategies, to begin designing surveillance programs to maximize its available resources and seek additional future funding to support its surveillance efforts.