Comprehensive and Integrated Swine Diseases Surveillance

December 7, 2011 — 

The annual Veterinary Services (VS) swine disease surveillance leadership meeting took place from August 30 to September 1, 2011, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Representatives from VS Swine Health Programs, National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL), National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), National Surveillance Unit (NSU), Wildlife Services National Wildlife Disease Programs and regional epidemiologists participated in the meeting to evaluate current swine surveillance and plan future surveillance activities.

APHIS is working with industry and States to shift from disease-specific surveillance to a comprehensive and integrated swine surveillance (CISS) approach. CISS provides a flexible sample collection, laboratory testing, and information management structure to monitor swine populations for existing program and foreign animal disease detection needs. It also provides flexibility for rapid response to emerging swine surveillance needs or possible foreign animal disease incursions. Within this framework, the group discussed issues related to current VS swine surveillance activities for classical swine fever, pseudorabies, and swine influenza virus, as well as African swine fever, swine brucellosis, and foot-and-mouth disease.

The working group discussed adequacy of current sample collection efforts, timeliness of test result reporting, and issues related to the laboratory testing algorithms for these diseases within the current swine surveillance programs. Participants identified strengths and areas for improvement in current surveillance implementation and adjusted plans to ensure operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility in achieving surveillance objectives of early disease detection and/or proof of disease freedom.

Meeting participants identified several action items to improve the operational efficiency of swine surveillance and to explore potential areas for reducing program costs. NSU was tasked with evaluating VS' current swine surveillance activities using quantitative metrics of surveillance sensitivity in addition to qualitative assessments. These evaluations will provide information to assist program managers in better administering VS' limited funding available for swine health surveillance.

Article submitted by Maria Celia Antognoli, Veterinary Epidemiologist, National Surveillance Unit, USDA APHIS VS CEAH, Fort Collins, Colorado and David Pyburn, Veterinary Medical Officer, Swine Program Staff, USDA APHIS VS NAHPP NCAHP, Des Moines, Iowa

Source: NAHLN Quarterly, December, 2011