Reuters – Vietnam says it has had initial success in creating a vaccine to fight African swine fever, which has infected farms throughout the Southeast Asian country and prompted the culling of around 10 per cent of its pig herd. African swine fever, which has spread to Laos and North Korea as well after being […] Read more
Tag Archives veterinary medicine
Vietnam claims some success in creating African swine fever vaccine
Disease experts are skeptical as a vaccine has been challenging to create so far
Monitoring wild bird threats to domestic poultry
Clusters of dead birds are an alarm bell and should be sent for testing
An outbreak of Newcastle disease among cormorants, as was seen in the summer of 2018, can generate significant public interest when it occurs in an area also high in population of sympathetic humans. But from the standpoint of human health and domestic poultry production, a much bigger risk would be present if the same infection […] Read more
Gut health key when raising birds without using antibiotics
Researchers strive to ease transition away from sub-therapeutic drug use
Promoting gut health is key to adapting to calls for antibiotic-free poultry production, attendees were told at the recent annual research day of the Poultry Industry Council (PIC). “We’ve used drugs a lot to hide bad management — poor litter management, too high of stocking density,” said professor Lisa Bielke of Ohio State University’s College […] Read more
Opinion: Swine fever brings trade adversaries together
Capital Letters with Kelsey Johnson of iPolitics
At a time of frosty diplomatic relations and continued trade disputes, the world’s top animal health experts, industry and governments are banding together to fight a deadly hog virus. More than 150 officials from about 15 countries descended on Ottawa recently for a global forum on African swine fever. Their goal: to share information, learn […] Read more
Disease threat cancels World Pork Expo
Ontario Pork Congress officials still considering the status of the local trade show
The Ontario Pork Congress does not yet have any comment about its show, after the World Pork Expo (WPE) was cancelled due to concerns about the threat of African Swine Fever. OPC said it will comment April 18. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) board or directors cited “an abundance of caution” about ASF’s transmission […] Read more
Canada’s pork industry is on high alert
African swine fever is spreading rapidly in other parts of the world and could cause catastrophic losses if it reached Canada. Here’s how the industry is trying to keep it out
Pork industry officials have welcomed bumped up biosecurity — including more detector dogs — at airports as one of several strategies to keep African swine fever (ASF) out of Canada. As an export dependent country, Canada is particularly at risk from the deadly virus. If it surfaced here, customers would quickly close their borders to […] Read more
Animal neglect linked to mental health
Those concerned with the well-being of animals should be concerned about the mental health of those caring for them
Stories about livestock that are found to be confined, neglected, emaciated or dead on a farmer’s property tend to generate big headlines. “I don’t understand how anyone could do that,” is the resulting refrain. Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton has heard that common response. “Frankly, if you can’t understand that, it’s probably a good thing. It means […] Read more
Rabies vaccinations and livestock fairs to be simplified
The provincial government has proposed simplifying the rule that resulted in many 4-H animals having to be vaccinated for rabies before they were taken to local fairs. The regulations implemented by the previous Liberal government required that animals that came in contact with the public had to be vaccinated. The regulation said that as long […] Read more
Kitchen scraps eliminated for pigs in China
China's ag ministry blames feeding food waste to pigs for African swine fever spread
Reuters – China’s Agriculture Ministry says it will ban the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after linking the practice to the majority of the early cases of African swine fever. The statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is the government’s first comment on how the deadly disease has spread in the […] Read more
A look at U.S. steps to prevent African swine fever
The U.S. industry is being proactive, learning lessons from previous imported animal diseases
Reuters – U.S. hog farmers are ramping up safety procedures and leaving animal-feed ingredients imported from China in storage in an attempt to keep out a highly contagious swine disease that is moving through Asia and Europe. U.S. government officials said in interviews they are also increasing their ability to test for the disease, African […] Read more