SHIC Helps Swine Health Monitoring Project’s Capabilities

August 3, 2016 — Paul Sundberg

The Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project (MSHMP) was created in 2012 to prospectively monitor the incidence of PRRS virus, but has since expanded in scope to also include incidence of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) and Seneca Valley Virus. Today, participating veterinarians from across the country submit data weekly representing about 40 percent of the domestic sow herd. This ongoing effort provides invaluable data and reports back to the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) and assists in its mission to protect and enhance the health of the U.S. swine herd through coordinated global disease monitoring.

According to Dr. Bob Morrison, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the University of Minnesota, the overall purpose of MSHMP is to develop enhanced capacity to help the swine industry respond to emerging pathogens – a key factor in why SHIC helps to financially support the program.

In the short run, the MSHMP collects, analyzes and reports disease data to help the pork industry control economically important diseases such as PRRS and PEDV. The project includes 29 systems of production which includes integrated companies, managed production, veterinary practices and regional control projects. Approximately 1,000 sow farms are included from across the country, which offers unique insights on real-time disease surveillance that no others have.

Aside from the weekly data MSHMP provides on surveillance, the program includes a report that serves to educate and inform participants as well as nonparticipants about the project findings. Recent key takeaways have included PRRS virus incidence not decreasing from that reported in the last two years to how PED virus incidence was 7 percent which is down from 9 percent and 56 percent the previous two years.

To learn more about how the MSHMP works and how it fits into SHIC’s objectives, read the full report here. In it, you’ll find specifics on how the MSHMP is:

• Monitoring trends in pathogen incidence and prevalence
• Conducing prospective monitoring of PRRS virus sequence evolution and impact.
• Developing capacity to capture and analyze movement data real-time
• Expanding participation of producers to allow for all to be involved

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 https://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Sundberg at psundberg@swinehealth.org.

Paul Sundberg, Executive Director, Swine Health Information Center