Farmscape for November 29, 2023

The Associate Director of the Swine Health Information Center says the pursuit of a definitive diagnosis of swine disease is critical to ensuring we do not miss an emerging disease.
As part of its November eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center looks at emerging global disease threats and the actions and supports it offers the pork sector.
Swine Health Information Canter Associate Director Dr. Meagan Niederwerder says one of the programs highlighted in this month's eNewsletter is SHIC's diagnostic fee support program.

Quote-Dr. Meagan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:
That program was initiated to provide a funding source for additional diagnostics when an ideology for disease in a swine herd is not immediately detected.
Once a foreign animal disease has been ruled out and routine diagnostics have ruled out endemic diseases that were thought to be the cause of a disease outbreak in a swine herd, our diagnostic fee support program can come in and provide resources for additional diagnostic assays such as whole genome sequencing with the pursuit of a definitive diagnosis.
It's really important to pursue a definitive diagnosis so that we do not miss an emerging disease.
Sometimes clinical signs of endemic disease can certainly look like emerging or transboundary swine diseases and pursuit of that definitive diagnosis is really critical for early and rapid identification of newly emerging diseases as well as swift implementation of control strategies and reducing the pork production impact and risk of spread of any new emerging disease.

Dr. Niederwerder notes SHIC strives to focus on sharing information.
She says the primary mechanisms of information sharing include its website at swinehealth.org, its monthly eNewsletter which includes monthly domestic and global disease monitoring reports, various webinars held throughout the year, research reports and research articles and fact sheets on specific diseases.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers