Can Foreign Animal Diseases Enter the US via Feed Imports from High Risk Countries?

October 26, 2016 — 

Until recently, we didn’t know the answer, because the research had not been done. Thanks to Dr. Scott Dee at the Pipestone Applied Research, Pipestone Veterinary Services, South Dakota State University (SDSU) and Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), http://www.swinehealth.org, we can now answer that question.

“The answer appears to be true,” says Dee. “Via simulation, we’ve shown for the first time that viral pathogens can move from country to country through feed imports from countries of high risk to countries without the disease.”

The question was . . . if PED got here through the feed, can Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) or other emerging pathogens travel through the feed too? Knowing that if diseases like Foot and Mouth ever made it to the US, it would be well over a $16,000,000,000 mistake for the US ag industry; SHIC, and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), funded the innovative transboundary research.

It takes 37 days to travel from Beijing to Shanghai to San Francisco to Des Moines. More than 37 days later, Dee has some answers. PED and other pathogens of concern, including Foot and Mouth Disease surrogates, can make it through the simulation in a variety of ingredients. This implies for the first time that high risk pathogens can move from high risk country to lower risk country through feed imports.

An example of a risk factor identified in the research is that soybean meal appears to be a good carrier for many of the surrogate viruses. Traditionally, in developing nations, soybeans are open air dried. They may be on public roads where vehicles travel and livestock wander. In countries where this is the practice, unwanted pathogens are also present in livestock that may have contact with these drying feed sources. Livestock could potentially contaminate the soybeans with a pathogen which could be included in an export.

“We need to prove this, though, “emphasizes Dee. “The next research could involve getting samples of product along the growing, processing and export/import pathway so we can truly define risk factors, not just for China, but for other countries that export as well.”

Seneca Valley Virus (SVV) was the surrogate virus for FMD in Dee’s studies. It survived very well in many feed ingredients. “If we get FMD, we are in big trouble,” emphasizes Dee, “which is why this research has impact across all food animal species.” Diseases like Foot and Mouth (FMD) affects pigs, cattle, dairy, goats, sheep, as well as deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.

This research was funded in part by Swine Health Information Center. To read the entire article, click here.

The mission of the Swine Health Information Center is to protect and enhance the health of the United States swine herd through coordinated global disease monitoring, targeted research investments that minimize the impact of future disease threats, and analysis of swine health data. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Sundberg at shic@swinehealth.org.