IPVC abstracts accepted until January 8

Abstracts are being accepted for the 24^th International Pig Veterinary Congress (IPVC) and 8^th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management (ESPHM). The two events will be held in conjunction with each other on June 7-10, 2016, in Dublin, Ireland.
The deadline to submit abstracts is January 8, 2016. This is an opportunity for people in the swine health field to advance their careers, advance their departments and make industry connections.
Potential abstract topics include:

• Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS)
• Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv)
• Classical swine fever or African swine fever
• Viral and viral diseases
• Porcine circovirus type 2 (PVC2)
• Swine influenza virus (SIV)
• Herd health management and economy
• Welfare and nutrition
• Reproduction
• Lawsonia
• Brachyspira
• Salmonella
• H. Parasuis
• S.suis
• Parasitic diseases
• Vaccinology and immunology
• Antimicrobial
• Mycoplasma
• Actinobacillus
• Clostridia
• E Coli
• Bacteriology and bacterial diseases
• Veterinary public health (food safety)
• Miscellaneous

Abstracts can be submitted online.

Six reasons to attend Banff Pork Seminar 2016

The best industry meetings drive progress today. The 2016 Banff Pork Seminar, Jan. 12 to 14, celebrates 45 years of doing just that as the premiere event in the pork industry.

There are many reasons to attend the 2016 event. Here are six highlights.

1. Hear the most powerful speaker in the world on farm animal care—Dr. Temple Grandin's work has revolutionized farm animal care. For that she has graced the cover of TIME Magazine, talked to the world from the stage of major Hollywood awards shows about the movie on her life, and been honored many times. In her usual forthright and clear fashion she will be speaking at BPS 2016 on how consumers view animal welfare.
2. The emerging power of Brazilian pork production—Rui Eduardo Saldanha Vargas of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein talks pork production and opportunities for one of Canada's global competitors.
3. The new world of swine health and genomics—One breakout session deals with an innovative project to identify animals that are genetically more resilient to disease and opportunities to select for enhanced resilience. Key players from the research project will present results and address opportunities in this new frontier in research.
4. Using antibiotics responsibly—Producers are changing how they use antibiotics. At BPS 2016 they can learn the latest tips on responsible antibiotic use, and learn how to get into antibiotic free production systems and manage once you are in it.
5. The Boar Pit returns—The seminar ends with top speakers tackling the most dynamic topics of the day in a moderated but free-flowing, fun environment. There will be time allotted for questions from the floor
6. Networking in a world-renowned location—The seminar moves to the Banff Springs Hotel. It and the Banff area are known globally for their beauty. Great social events, plenty of personal time are all included as part of the networking opportunity.

Early registration and hotel accommodation deadlines are approaching quickly. Full program details and registration information is available at the Seminar website www.banffpork.ca.

Get complete coverage in a Special Meeting Report of the 2016 Banff Pork Seminar, presented by communications partner Meristem. Find the special report link on the Seminar site home page or directly on the www.meristem.com home page.

Banff Pork Seminar seeking nominations for Aherne Prize

 Nothing fuels the success of an industry like a strong culture of innovation. The 2016 Banff Pork Seminar is supporting the recognition of those who drive these accomplishments, by calling on nominations from across the North American pork industry for candidates to win the F.X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production.

"Continual innovation is the foundation of any successful industry and presenting this award is one of the highlights of the Banff Pork Seminar," says Dr. Michael Dyck of the University of Alberta, chair of the F.X. Aherne prize committee. "The award is an opportunity to recognize those individuals who have developed either original solutions to pork production challenges or creative uses for known technology."

Nominations are encouraged and accepted up to and including the entry deadline of Oct. 31. Individuals may nominate themselves or another industry candidate by following instructions available on the Banff Pork Seminar website at www.banffpork.ca. Innovations nominated can apply to any segment of the pork industry including feeding; breeding; ventilation; disease control and prevention; manure management; facility or enterprise management; and pork quality and safety.

"Any innovation big or small can qualify and win," says Dyck. "We are proud to offer this chance for anyone associated with the pork industry in Canada, the United States or Mexico to strut their stuff as technology innovators and show how you put it into practice."

Up to two prizes are available to be awarded to innovators at the 2016 Banff Pork Seminar held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel Jan. 12-14. The prizes include registration and travel valued at $2,000 each, along with the outstanding opportunity to have their innovations highlighted at this leading pork industry conference.

The award is named after the late Dr. Frank Aherne, a professor of swine nutrition and production at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a major force for science-based progress in the western Canadian pork industry.

Study: No evidence to link Ebola transmission to pigs

Presently, there is no solid evidence that pigs have any role in the past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease, according to Christine Atherstone, a researcher with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), based in Uganda. She is the lead author of a new paper investigating the role of pigs in the spread of the Ebola virus to people in that country.
Since the discovery of the Ebola virus, there have been four outbreaks of the disease in Uganda. There has been a very rapid increase in pig keeping in the country, such that the domestic swine population increased from 190,000 to 3.2 million in the 30 years to 2008. This increase and the fact that pigs are the only domestic species known to be naturally infected with the virus led Atherstone and her co-authors to investigate the role of pigs in these outbreaks through examination of published papers, interviews with people with relevant expertise and spatial analysis comparing pig density with Ebola cases.
Two viruses are known to cause Ebola disease in people - the Reston Ebola virus (REBOV) occurs naturally and causes mild respiratory symptoms in pigs, while the Zaire Ebola virus (ZEBOV) leads to fever and severe lung disease following artificial infection.
Bats have been linked to outbreaks in people but other mammals living in proximity to man are also known to carry the virus. These include pigs,but the limited serological data do not link pigs to past outbreaks of Ebola.
Not all human index cases – the first cases in a particular area – have been linked to contact with the likely virus carriers, bats and non-human primates, leading to the conclusion that the virus was transmitted by another host but pigs were not identified in any of the cases.
Domestic pigs inhabit the same areas as some potential Ebola virus zoonotic hosts and may interact with them, especially over food sources, particularly fruits, the authors suggest. Interactions at the human–pig–wildlife interface could support transmission through saliva or injuries resulting from fighting over food, they found.
It also emerged that symptoms of fever in pigs are commonly reported by farmers and that most cases are undiagnosed.
There is also a correlation between the timing of Ebola virus outbreaks and periods of peak pork consumption, which occur during festivals and holidays. However, the authors suggest this could be related to the gatherings of people as well as to the food consumed.
Atherstone and her co-authors conclude from their study that pigs may be amplifying hosts in the transmission of the Ebola virus but they are not reservoir hosts. They recommend that their work is continued in order to gain further knowledge so that any risk can be communicated with minimum impacts on the production chain, poverty and rural livelihoods.
The paper, by C. Atherstone, E. Smith, P. Ochungo, K. Roese and D. Grace and entitled “Assessing the potential role of pigs in the epidemiology of Ebola virus in Uganda” appears in early online edition of the journal, ‘Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.’

AB Neo and Bristol University research pig accelerator

AB Neo has embarked on a research project with Bristol University to confirm the mode of action of Axcelera-P, its accelerator for pigs. Axcelera-P is proven to deliver lifetime performance in pigs when offered to piglets from day four to weaning.
Paul Toplis, AB Neo's Technical Director (Swine) said, "Although feed intakes are not significantly different compared to the top-selling successful creep feeds, the effects of Axcelera-P are profound in delivering lifetime performance through every stage from nursery to finisher and by reducing pre-weaning mortality. These two commercially relevant factors and their significantly positive effects on ROI have made the new accelerator technology of worldwide interest to pig farmers."
Consistent performance has been seen in ongoing AB Neo research through academic and farm trials confirm that Axcelera-P is a significant breakthrough in pig performance. Consequently, AB Neo knows, through repeated trials and over three years commercial sales in the UK, what the repeatable and predictable effect is on pigs and how to achieve it, but it is unclear exactly why Axcelera-P works as it does.
Because of its step-change in performance (not the incremental improvement seen in nutritional improvement trials) and how it appears to switch on a pig at such an early age, AB Neo doesn't expect to find a conventional mode of action (such as is seen when simply offering more or improved nutrition). However, it is clear that the significant positive change is happening in the neonatal pig.
Studies in humans and in laboratory rodents have suggested that early-life events can have long-term effects on intestinal microbiota (gut micro-organisms), their interaction with the animal's metabolism and the expression of the appropriate immune response in protecting the animal and relating to food tolerances. AB Neo believes this is also true of neonatal pigs. The idea that dietary manipulation of the neonatal intestinal environment has such long-term programming effects is the basis for the accelerator category.
To identify its mode of action, AB Neo is working closely with Bristol University, whose world-leading expertise focuses on answering interesting scientific questions relating to gut microbiota and performance.
The collaborative research is focusing on three areas
Microbiota. Investigating the extent to which the early diet in piglets programs long-term changes in composition and function of intestinal microbiota. Specifically, to what extent does early-life diet influence the succession (rather than short-term composition) of microbial communities.
Metabolomics. Investigating the extent to which the diet and microbiota program long-term effects on the developing metabolic system of the piglets. Specifically, are these also only manipulable early in life, or can they be manipulated later? To what extent are pathways involving breakdown, absorption and energy/protein/lipid metabolism affected? By comparing metabolomics in accelerated and unaccelerated (control) piglets we will be able to find any causal links on performance.
Immune System. Investigating the extent to which diet, microbiota and metabolism program long-term effects on the piglet immune system. Specifically, do they change the cost-benefit ratio for expression of immune responses to acute, clinical pathogens; to subclinical infections; and to harmless commensal bacteria and diet. One view is that there may be an effect on a pig's immune response to specific ingredients in a starter feed, which then affects the way they respond the first time they are encountered by the pig after weaning. By reducing unnecessary, intolerance-related immune response the pig has more available energy for growth, and nutrient partitioning may be favourably influenced towards production.
Toplis continued, "Our work with Bristol University is very exciting and we are confident that, by working with pigs whose performance has been accelerated, we have a strong probability of identifying the specific mode of action. We can then improve the mode of action further, seek more efficient and cost effective ways to create the accelerator effect, and start work on accelerating other species."

Using viruses to treat bacterial infections in pigs?

Pig producers could soon be using viruses to treat bacterial infections. Professor Martha Clokie, University of Leicester, is going to be leading research into certain types of viruses that could be used to treat Brachyspira and Salmonella in pigs.
Speaking at the BPEX Innovation Conference, Clokie said that viruses behave as selective parasites of bacteria. Therefore, “friendly” viruses, known as bacteriophages, can be used as specific and targeted treatments for certain bacteria.
“In our work in humans we’ve been able to use certain viruses to treat the gut bacterium Clostridium difficile,” she said. “Plus, because of the phages’ specificity, they can also be used to diagnose which bacteria are causing active infection.
“Phages have been used to treat bacteria in this way for 100 years but interest in this area has been revived recently because of the rise in resistance to antibiotics. Originally, the specificity of bacteriophages was seen as a challenge and the broad spectrum of antibiotics made them the favoured option when they were discovered, she said.
“However, bacteriophages are highly specific to their host and only bind to and infect those bacteria. Because of this, they won’t damage the whole flora of the gut which makes them a valuable alternative option to antibiotics.”
Clokie mentioned that, in future, they could be used at farm level or even in the abattoir to reduce contamination of carcasses. 

Fly infestations hit pig and poultry production

Fly infestations in pig and poultry buildings could be costing livestock farmers 10 percent in lost growth rates and egg production. That could equate to over €10 (£8.50) per pig in extra feed requirement.
Speaking at the recent PestEx 2015 event in London, Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr. Kai Sievert, reported research studies have shown pig growth rates in untreated buildings with moderate house fly infestations, of six to 21 flies trapped per day on monitoring glue traps, were 121 days through the finishing unit, compared to just 109 days in adjacent buildings where the flies were controlled. Feed cost savings in the treated houses amounted to €15,000 a year per pig house with a capacity of 1500 head.
Other livestock can also be seriously affected by nuisance flies, he added. In poultry units, for example, cestodosis (internal worm parasites) transmitted by house flies reduced egg production by 10 percent. While beef units had seen weight gain reduced by up to 20 percent where infestations of Stomoxys calcitrans biting flies exceeded 100 insects per calf.
“Unless controlled by professional pest controllers or farmers, flies can carry over 100 different germs in the form of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and even worm eggs,” warned Dr. Sievert, “more than 65 of which can affect humans or animals. The movement of diseases, via mechanical transfer, by fly feces, fly saliva, or feeding, includes also the spread of the two most widely publicized risks to human health status: E. coli and Salmonella.”
He highlighted the presence of flies also created a bridge for disease, including between stock on different farms or buildings and from one batch of livestock to another passing through a building – no matter how thorough the physical cleaning or biosecurity measures. In these situations, the targeted use of Demand CS or Icon residual sprays and Zyrox baits can be effective in minimizing problem disease transmission.
Dr. Sievert pointed out that, with the current pressure on farmers to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock production, there will almost inevitably be a higher background level of disease that will increase the potential risk of further spread by flies in the future. Thus the general hygiene situation has to be improved and fly control is a crucial important part of this.
Dr. Sievert advocated that farmers and pest controllers should now adopt an integrated approach to fly control, combining best practice to minimize fly populations with effective insecticide treatment of livestock buildings. He highlighted the value of physical barriers to prevent fly incursion into buildings and the need for better long-term control by removing the breeding grounds for flies.
But while mechanical methods could reduce fly numbers, for most farms chemical control was the primary route to effectively keep infestations below nuisance thresholds. Typically that would include the use of adulticides to quickly knock-down problem fly numbers, in combination with larvicides to break the cycle of population build-up.

Danisco’s Enviva EO shown to resolve challenges in swine

New research shows the benefits of Danisco Animal Nutrition’s essential oil product Enviva EO in swine.
The research, carried out in conjunction with the China Agricultural University, shows that that Enviva EO -- a product containing carefully balanced, high-concentration blends of thymol and cinnamaldehyde in nature-identical form -- is a solution for resolving common production challenges in swine, including:
*Improving bodyweight gain in piglets suffering from production stress, with feed intake increasing by up to 19 percent, resulting in a net profit improvement of $25.96/ton and net profit saving of more than 19 percent (which is comparable to savings offered through Antibiotic Growth Promoter application).
*The development of a positive gut microbiota in newly weaned pigs, which results in digestibility benefits and helps to control populations of certain bacteria that may have a negative impact on production.
*Supporting food safety through reduced occurrence of diarrhea and decreased E. coli counts in feces, which can, in turn, resolve issues with carcass contamination.
Free-flowing, dust and odor free, Enviva EO’s, active components are protected by patented “encapsulation” process making them heat stable up to 85C , improving production efficiency in poultry and swine production.
“Our local research shows that the use of essential oils and other feed additives can increase profitability and reduce the impact of high feed costs. Our essential oils offering can also help our customers improve food safety and quality with reduced use of antibiotics,” said Liza Fan, regional industry leader for China at Danisco Animal Nutrition.

UK study looks to fight joint disease in pigs

The U.K’s Newcastle University, with collaboration from Scotland’s Rural College researcher Dale Sandercock is conducting a project that looks for markers identifying pigs at risk of having a painful and degenerative joint disease.
Animals with degenerative joint conditions are likely to experience pain before they show any clinical signs or lameness. In U.K. pig herds, lameness is a serious welfare and economic problem which has been found to affect some 230,000 animals annually. Being able to predict clinical lameness will not only help inform earlier pain alleviation but will also help in the selection for breeding of non-affected animals which could gradually reduce the genetic pre-disposition to lameness.
The project is funded by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) and draws together a multi-disciplinary team of animal scientists and specialists in human osteoarthritis from Newcastle University, Nottingham University and Oxford University in addition to Scotland’s Rural College.
Researchers aim to identify molecular markers in the blood and joint tissue of pigs affected by degenerative joint disease which could in future be used to identify animals likely to develop the condition before any clinical signs appear. They will study the relationship between the disease, specific biomarkers and use sophisticated motion capture software to record and identify any subtle behavior patterns that might be used to identify early signs.
Once validated, pain and lameness biomarker data have the potential to be included within breeding selection objectives, both in genetic population improvement programs and the ongoing screening of animals sold to production herds. It would bring significant benefits to pig welfare.
The UFAW is an internationally recognized, independent scientific and educational animal welfare charity. UFAW Senior Scientific Program Manager Dr. Huw Golledge said: “UFAW is delighted to be able to support this important project which has the potential to significantly improve the welfare and health of farmed pigs.”

University of Nottingham, Zoetis collaborate on pig feed efficiency study

• 

  Andrea Gantz

  The University of Nottingham and Zoetis are collaborating in a study with the aim of improving pig feed efficiency.

  From WATTAgNet:
  The University of Nottingham has secured funding from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to undertake a four-year project with Zoetis, the leading global animal health company, with the aim of improving feed efficiency in pig farming.
  This new project builds on an ongoing partnership between The University of Nottingham and Zoetis and will focus on studies to help maximize muscle growth and improve the health of pig herds on farms. Funding for the research initiative will be in excess of GBP800,000 (US$1.2 million), including the contribution from Zoetis.
  John Brameld, associate professor in nutritional biochemistry at The University of Nottingham and principal investigator, said: "We are very excited to be partnering with Zoetis on such a significant research project which could potentially help to benefit farmers across the globe."
  "Improving feed efficiency in farm animals such as pigs is becoming increasingly important in order to ensure their healthy growth and development, and also to help provide an increasing supply of high quality meat that the world’s expanding population requires."
  The project will bring together the muscle growth and metabolism expertise of Dr. Tim Parr and Dr. John Brameld, both from the University’s School of Biosciences , the pig muscle cell culture specialisms of Dr. Paul Loughna in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the whole body physiology skills of Professor Fran Ebling in the School of Life Sciences.
  It is also anticipated that staff from The University of Nottingham and Zoetis will spend time working within each other’s laboratories, increasing opportunities for the exchange of knowledge, technology and expertise.
  Douglas Harris, senior principal scientist in global therapeutics research for Zoetis, added: "This agreement gives us the opportunity to continue to build upon and strengthen the swine enhanced performance research partnership we’ve had with the exceptional staff at the University of Nottingham. We’re excited about the scientific advances that could arise from the exchange of talent between our organizations and the contributions we can collectively make towards improving global food security."
  Pork is the world’s most widely consumed meat. Over 110 million metric tons of pork is eaten annually, accounting for almost 40 percent of the world’s meat consumption. With the world’s population forecast to grow by a further 2 billion people by 2050, and the associated increase in the world demand for meat, improving the efficiency of animal growth is becoming ever more important globally.

Nutriquest opens Ran Research Center for swine studies

Nutriquest has opened a new research facility in Minnesota capable of advanced swine research applications.
The Ran Research Center, located near Pipestone, Minnesota, can accommodate all aspects of wean-to-finish swine research. The facility features 2,400 animal finishing spaces, modern design and a state-of-the-art automated feeding system, making it fully capable of producing controlled and technologically advanced research. The Ran Research Center is the final piece of a breed to slaughter research system that already includes modern commercial sow and nursery research facilities.
“Nutriquest’s investment in the Ran Research Center furthers our focus on the research and development of real-world technologies that help producers optimize pig performance and profitability.  We now have the capability of doing breed to slaughter research, on large numbers of animals, within a state-of-the-art commercial research setting.” said Dr. Chad Hagen, senior vice president of Nutriquest.
The Nutriquest team has proven experience in the design and development of products and technologies, with a team of scientists with over 100 years of experience in research and product development.
The center is yet another stride in the continued growth of Nutriquest’s research, product development and take-to-market capabilities. “The Ran Research Center continues our commitment to the animal agriculture industry and will ensure we deliver on our goal of developing products and technologies that enhance animal productivity in a cost effective, safe and healthy manner while respecting the environment,” said Steve Weiss, president of Nutriquest.

Project provides real-world information on loose sow housing

Hog producers will benefit from research on switching from gestation stalls to loose sow housing as a result of a pilot project underway on a Maple Leaf Foods barn near Steinbach, Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced.
The $1.2 million project received $790,000 from the federal and provincial governments and is the largest complete barn conversion in Manitoba. Funding was used to:


• Remove gestation stalls and replace them with a design that allows sows to move freely throughout the barn;
• Purchase and install new feeding systems that use radio frequency identification tags to ensure each sow receives the appropriate nutrition; and
• Train employees on the new systems and how to train the sows to use the feeders.
"These are the first scale conversions to open sow housing in Canada and our priority was to complete them in a manner that enhanced animal welfare and maintained a safe work environment,” said Lynda Kuhn, senior vice president of sustainability and public affairs at Mapl Leaf Foods. “We are very pleased with the outcome, including maintenance of high safety standards for our people, and better access to feed, more freedom to move and minimal aggression among animals. The support of the federal and Manitoba governments was pivotal to these projects and we are sharing what we've learned to assist the broader industry."
The 1,250-head barn conversion was completed last winter. As part of the funding agreement, research gathered from this barn conversion will be shared through factsheets, seminars and workshops with other Manitoba producers over the next two to five years. They will provide real-world data on barn design, equipment needs, animal nutrition and care, and employee training requirements. The 1,250-head barn conversion was completed last winter.
Manitoba uses the standards set under national codes of practice to enforce provincial legislation related to animal care and welfare. Earlier in 2014, the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs, a standard developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council, was updated. As a result, all hog barns built in Manitoba after July 1, 2014 must use loose housing models. There are stricter standards for existing barns, which must phase out gestation stalls by July 1, 2024. The code also set out standards related to animal health, husbandry and transportation. Development of the code followed national public consultations that resulted in 4,700 submissions from producers, processors, veterinarians and animal welfare advocates.
This project is funded under Growing Forward 2 - Growing Assurance. In Manitoba, the federal and provincial governments are investing $176 million under Growing Forward 2, a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial policy framework to advance the agriculture industry, helping producers and processors become more innovative and competitive in world markets.
"The Canadian pork industry is a major economic driver. This project will assist in developing and adopting new tools and strategies for the sector to remain competitive and sustainable, and provide more opportunities for producers to prosper," said Ritz.
"This project will give producers a better understanding of loose housing and some real-world knowledge on how to make their own successful transition. Manitoba's pork producers continue to put a top priority on animal care and herd health.  Moving forward, the results of this project will be important for the sustainable future of the industry,” added Kostyshyn.
Karl Kynoch, Chair of the Manitoba Pork Council applauds the effort and says Manitoba Pork has been actively encouraging producers to look at alternative housing systems.

Scotland’s Rural College forms monogastric research center

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has launched a new Monogastric Science Research Centre, a focus for the college’s work on pigs and poultry, in particular bringing together vital research on nutrition.
Currently avian research at SRUC is carried out under the auspices of the Avian Science Research Centre. However, that will now be dissolved and its work will become part of the Monogastric Science Research Centre. 
The center will be headed up by Dr. Jos Houdijk, one of SRUC’s senior animal scientists, who has spent many years at the forefront of animal nutrition and health research internationally. 
“This approach, integrating pig and poultry work, will enable us to bring two highly related fields together to the benefit of both areas,” said Houdijk. “We are already approached regularly by clients looking to do studies on both species, so launching this center is timely, appropriate and logical. The center will allow us to expand the cross-species approach, giving us the opportunity to take forward the concept of comparative biology to more such projects.”
Currently SRUC has two large projects assessing the nutritional value of animal feed ingredients in relation to both pigs and poultry. The first is researching alternative sources of nutrition from faba beans, while the other is looking into the nutritional value of rapeseed varieties. Both are part of ongoing work to find alternative food sources and technologies for monogastric species, which will reduce the UK farming industry’s reliance on imported feed such as soybean meal.
Pigs and poultry have much in common with each other biologically, and the center will allow concepts developed for pigs to be explored in poultry, and vice versa, and open up the possibility of working on other monogastric species such as fish.
For Houdijk, this cross-species emphasis will be essential in addressing future challenges, in particular those related to gut health.
“The gut is incredibly important, both when it comes to efficiently processing food and effectively resisting disease, and there are many questions still to be answered when it comes to balancing these two priorities under the overall objective to increase sustainability of animal production systems,” said Houdijk. “Our new center will help facilitate joint research in this area in the years ahead.”

HIPRA holds swine health symposium at IPVS 2014

HIPRA staff members visit with customers at the 2014 International Pig Veterinary Society Congress. 
HIPRA participated as a major sponsor in the 23^rd International Pig Veterinary Society Congress (IPVS 2014), held June 8-11 in Cancun, Mexico. The company held a symposium titled “Dialogues on Keys to Prevention in Swine Health,” which was attended by more than 600 participants.
HIPRA brought together three world-renowned specialists to speak at the event: Tanja Opriessnig, Christopher Chase and John Carr. The specialists offered their respective points of view on prevention in swine production.
Dr. Opriessnig presented an update on problems faced by veterinarians with respect to the most common diseases in the sector. She also showed participants a number of maps that depicted the global distribution of the diseases and the main corresponding genotypes. Dr. Chase spoke about the key role of the immune system in swine. Participants were shown a set of 3D videos with images that clearly illustrated several very complex processes. Lastly, Dr. Carr offered a practical perspective in which he stressed that strict biosecurity is key to eliminating pathogens. The event concluded with complimentary cocktails from HIPRA for all participants.

First exome sequence completed in pigs

PIC, a division of Genus plc, has collaborated with Edinburgh Genomics and The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, UK, to complete the first exome sequencing in pigs. Exome sequencing is a cost-effective strategy to selectively sequence the most important parts of DNA and enables faster genomic progress.
The extensive results of this research, published in the journal BMC Genomics in July 2014, were generated from a targeted set of 96 pigs representing the known variation in one of PIC’s leading global proprietary populations in order to capture as many mutations as possible.
Exome sequencing has been used in humans to aid in the diagnosis of Mendelian disorders (genetic disorders associated with the mutation of a single gene). PIC will use the information derived from this research, which also received funding from the Roslin Foundation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), to achieve more accurate genomic selection in swine, including work to reduce embryonic and/or fetal death loss in pregnant pigs.
Professor David Hume, director of The Roslin Institute and a co-author of the study said: “The development of a novel genomic platform is a significant output from the long term strategic partnership between The Roslin Institute and Genus. Within the institute, we see many applications of this platform in biomedical research as well as more applied applications in animal breeding.”
Dr. Jonathan Lightner, Genus chief scientific officer, congratulated Edinburgh Genomics for a well-conducted study achieving coverage statistics similar to those seen with commercially available human exome kits. He added: “PIC will continue to invest in and partner with leading global institutions to develop the next generation of technologies that drive faster genomic progress. We are committed to using these techniques to deliver the best products to our customers.”

Veterinarian: Pig system stability works better than dosing pigs

Dr. Mark FitzSimmons, a pig farmer and veterinarian of Swine Graphics, presented at the 30^th Alltech Symposium that he believes maintaining stability in systems, rather than dosing, is the key to combating stress and disease in pigs.
“You can actually make an endemic disease become epidemic … if you try to use antibiotics to eliminate a bacterial disease out of your pig population,” FitzSimmons said. 
He went on to discuss the current eradication process of mycoplasma: “The disease itself is not that big of a deal. If you take your gilt production system, and because you can, you go in and you use antibiotics at a high level in pigs early in their life (basically in the farrowing house) and you eliminate mycoplasma from that pig population … that’s going to be a problem.
“You have gilts that come into the farrowing house; they farrow their pigs. Instead of getting exposed to [a small amount of] mycoplasma early in their life and getting colonized normally by the sow … they get exposed to [a large amount of] mycoplasma, because of the gilts that came in naïve into that herd are shedding at the rate that they should have been shedding at when they were 180 days of age and they weren’t anywhere near those pigs. By the time they got into a crate with their first litter of pigs, the level of mycoplasma they would be shedding would be back down to [a small amount]. 
“Now what you have is instead of a disease that we typically saw … in 80- to 100- to 120- or 150-pound pigs, we are now seeing it in 3-, 4- and 5-week-old pigs. Now you find the need to have to vaccinate for mycoplasma in pigs not when they’re 50 to 60 pounds, but when they’re 5 days old.” He explained that it wasn’t a change in the disease that causes it to show up in younger pigs, but a change in the upset of stability of the sow.
“If you have a myco-negative sow, and you can put myco-negative gilts into it, and you can keep those pigs myco-negative all the way through their lifecycle, without a doubt, they perform better. The problem is getting all those things lined up on the same day.” 
FitzSimmons also said that while producers can vaccinate for mycoplasma several times and the pig is more or less protected from that disease, they’re not taking into account the healthy bacteria getting killed by the multiple vaccinations, creating instability by leaving piglets more susceptible to other diseases.
He concluded that while it seems like a basic concept to have and maintain system stability, people are continuing to develop programs that promote instability.

U.S., Canadian pork, feed industries collaborate to study PED virus

More than 60 people representing the U.S. and Canadian pork, feed and other allied industries recently participated in a meeting on the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus hosted by the National Pork Board, and in collaboration with the National Pork Producers Council, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, the American Feed Industry Association, the National Grain and Feed Association, the National Renderers Association and the North American Spray Dried Blood and Plasma Producers, in Des Moines, Iowa. Although the disease does not affect humans or pork safety, it has infected and killed millions of young pigs on farms of all sizes in 27 states since May 2013 and in four Canadian provinces since January.
"Our main goal was to bring a group of people together to help us agree on research needs related to PEDV and feed systems so that we can get answers to ongoing questions as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Dr. Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology at the National Pork Board. "We've been working on PEDV research and collaborating with all pork industry stakeholders since the disease was discovered here, and we'll continue doing that to get practical results for farmers to use to save their pigs."
The meeting participants, made up of producers, veterinarians, nutritionists, academics and government and association officials, also shared what's currently known about PED virus, including transmission routes, possible vectors and current testing limitations. The group reiterated that PED virus is not a human health or food safety issue and agreed the virus is of Asian origin genetically, but its direct pathway to North America remains unknown.
During the daylong session, the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered information about the agency's pathways analysis that seeks to identify and describe pathways that exotic viral pathogens of swine may enter the country. The Canadian participants shared their PED virus experiences and actions taken this year, and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians presented its initial survey of early PED virus cases. In addition, participants learned results of veterinary investigations in several states and heard what the feed, feed ingredient and rendering industries are doing to enhance their biosecurity programs and mitigate risk.
"After taking all of this information into consideration, the group agreed that there are multiple ways for pigs to become infected via a fecal-oral route, including environmental, transportation, feed systems and other vectors," Sundberg said.
The top research priorities agreed upon by the group are to:

• Investigate the effectiveness and cost of treatments that could be used to mitigate the survival of PEDV and other viruses in feeds
• Conduct contamination risk assessments at all steps within the feed processing and delivery chain
• Develop a substitute for the currently used swine bioassay procedures
• Continue to investigate the risk of feed and other pathways for pathogen entry into the U.S.
"If feed is a factor in the transfer of PEDV, based on past research we know that there are specific time and temperature combinations that should inactivate the virus," Sundberg said. "However, there are many variables that can affect feed, including post-processing contamination, which is another area that must be carefully controlled even if inactivation occurs."

Deadline to submit abstracts for IPVS Congress extended to February 14

The deadline for abstracts to be submitted for the 14^th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress has been extended to 11:59 p.m. February 14. The International Pig Veterinary Society Congress, scheduled for June 8-11, in Cancun, Mexico, will showcase research and topics of swine health and production interest from around the world.
Abstracts must be submitted online through the International Pig Veterinary Society website.
Presentation venues include oral and poster presentations.
The program is organized around the following topics: bacteriology, virology, immunology/vaccine/diagnosis, epidemiology/public health, breeding/genetics, nutrition and production, management/housing/economics, food safety/pork quality, welfare, practitioners' line and miscellaneous.

MU researcher looking to reduce hog odor

MU Extension assistant professor Teng Lim, left, and graduate assistant Brandon Harvey study the material inside a biofilter at the MU Swine Research Center. The biofilters reduce hog odors.
A University of Missouri (MU) Extension assistant professor of agricultural systems management is researching ways to reduce odors from hog houses. Through funding from the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Teng Lim is working with biofilters to reduce the odor, dust and gas emissions from typical swine operations.
Lim has evaluated small-scale biofilters at commercial hog farms and concluded that these biofilters could be scaled up to reduce emissions from larger hog operations.
"We are trying to evaluate different potential media to improve the biofilters," Lim says. He is looking at materials within the biofilters at the MU Swine Research Center in Columbia. Wood chips are the main type of media used in the filters, although he is also using a puffed plastic material.
The biofilters at the MU hog facility have windows to observe the materials inside and are raised off the ground to keep them away from rodents. The rooms in the research barn all have individual ventilation control systems and can be monitored over the Internet. The system uploads all the data to a server and sends a daily email with data from the previous 24 hours.
Lim says the data lets the researchers evaluate whether the pigs are comfortable and monitor temperature fluctuation, humidity and barometric pressure to make sure the whole system is working.
When producers look to expand their operations or build a new barn, neighbors often have concerns about the odors. Lim says biofiltration is one of the least expensive ways to reduce odors and dust and should be part of farmers' best management practices.
"It also shows they are concerned with taking care of the environment and their neighbors and community as well," he says.
MU Extension structural engineers, air quality engineers, soil scientists and other specialists are working as a team to evaluate farms and offer recommendations on the best ways to mitigate odor and dust.
Lim is also conducting research on anaerobic digesters, which can help with managing waste and controlling odor while also providing a source of energy.
Manure from the facility goes through a 21-day biochemical process that produces methane gas, which can be used to fuel generators and boilers, says Brandon Harvey, a graduate assistant working with Lim.
Harvey says that a hog farm could meet its energy needs with an anaerobic digester and even earn revenue selling excess energy to the grid.
For odor mitigation alone, however, a digester is a much more expensive proposition than biofilters, he said.
  "Every farm is different, so we're trying to provide different options, viable options, sustainable options, for people to use," Lim says. "As hog operations expand, it is critical that they be responsible for the environment and be responsible for their community and neighbors. We want to make sure they have best management practices to adopt that improve their operations and minimize conflicts in their community."

Banff Pork Seminar honors innovator with Aherne award

The developer of a tool that improves handling for baby pigs at processing and improves the health and wellbeing of farm workers has been awarded the 2014 F.X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production by the Banff Pork Seminar, which is being held January 21-23 in Banff, Alberta. Helmut Janz, a barn manager for Maple Leaf in Zhoda, Manitoba, received the award for his invention called the "piglet processing arm."
"Innovation is the lifeblood of any industry and the F.X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production is an opportunity to recognize those individuals who have developed either original solutions to pork production challenges or creative uses of known technology," says Dr. Michael Dyck of the University of Alberta, chair of the F.X. Aherne prize committee.
The award is named after the late Dr. Frank Aherne, a professor of swine nutrition and production at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a major force for science-based progress in the western Canadian pork industry.
As a hog barn manager, Helmut Janz recognized the need for a better way to process baby piglets when he saw employees suffer repetitive stress injuries as a result of performing piglet processing tasks.
His "piglet processing arm" gently and safely holds the animal and allows it to be pivoted and rotated during the handling process. This makes the processing of piglets a safer task by eliminating the potential for repetitive stress and strain injuries on the employees.
The beauty of the design lies in its simplicity. It is constructed out of six simple, standardized, easy-to-source, low cost parts.
A universal joint similar to what is used on power take off shafts on tractors serves as the basis for the device. A holding plate for the piglets is attached to that and mounted on the processing cart. Various trial designs lead to improvements in the final product. Foam inserts were added to cradle the piglet and a Velcro strap was added to easily hold the piglet in place.
The processing arm is designed to attach to a processing cart. It can be adjusted for height of employee and can be used easily by both right and left handed people.
With this new tool processing tasks such as injections, tattooing, castrating, tail docking and oral drenching can now all be done with the piglet in the cradle by simply swiveling the arm to the correct position. Since the piglet can be processed without being held and squeezed by staff, there is less stress on the animal and far less repetitive stress on the staff.
The arm is now used by 40 people in 20 barns across the Maple Leaf system.   This means the processing arm will be used on approximately 1.5 million piglets annually.
As well, Maple Leaf is now manufacturing new custom designed carts for their barns with two arms. Use of the carts will be a mandatory part of operating procedures because they are seen as an important opportunity to improve injury prevention.
Held since 1972 the Banff Pork Seminar is coordinated by the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, in cooperation with Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and other pork industry representatives from across Canada.