Farmscape for February 19, 2025

Research conducted by the University of Illinois suggests, under certain scenarios, it may not be necessary to wash 100 percent of swine transport trailers to adequately control the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.
To identify the optimal decontamination threshold to reduce PED transmission, researchers with the University of Illinois used computer modelling to calculate the cost and evaluate the effectiveness of washing from zero to 100 percent of swine transport trailers in five percent increments.
Dr. Ben Blair, an Assistant Professor of Livestock Population Medicine with the University of Illinois, told participants in a Swine Health Information Center-American Association of Swine Veterinarians webinar yesterday the highest percentage of market haul trailers washed resulted in the lowest level of infected premises but 60 percent washed resulted in the lowest costs per farm.

Quote-Dr. Benjamin Blair-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign:
Based on our findings we recommend that people think about tailored strategies, so adjust washing protocols based on the prevalence, based on your system interconnectedness.
If you can dictate truck routes and keep trucks segregated between flows, that's fantastic.
With any kind of change you make; you're going to want to monitor and adjust and continuously evaluate your system and adapt as needed.
Our research highlights the importance of strategic trailer decontamination and mitigating PED transmission.
No doubt, washing a high percentage of trailers results in the lowest number of infected premises.
There's no argument there.
However, is that always the most cost efficient?
Maybe not.
By tailoring washing protocols, producers may be able to achieve adequate disease reductions while managing costs.
Biosecurity, like washing a truck, is a risk mitigation step, not insurance.
Not all people need to follow the same recommendations to be successful.

The recorded webinar will be posted to SHIC's website at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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