As Temperatures Warm Up Pork Producers Encouraged to Consider Strategies for Pathogen Elimination

The Swine Health Information Center suggests, with warmer temperatures on their way, spring is a good time to start making plans for eliminating pathogens from the farm. As part of its March eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center has released its monthly domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says although we still can expect some freezing temperatures, spring is the time to start planning strategies for eliminating pathogens.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

PRRS identification has seen a bit of a decrease this month in the wean to finish sites, however overall, there is more lineage L1C.5 being detected in 2025.
This is even more so than historical amounts seen in 2024 and so it really does bear watching because, if there's more continued changes in this virus and across all age categories that is of concern. For PED and porcine delta coronavirus, case positivity has increased for the new category and facility category that it was seen.

This includes truck washes, vehicle etcetera and so that is important when we compare that against the farm site. There has been some increased positivity for PED and delta coronavirus overall and that was above expected in Indiana.But, overall, PED for the winter was at expected levels. With spring we're still not out of winter months and so it is very important to be able to continue to assess biosecurity, especially when we're having freezing temperatures, so looking at people, vehicle, supply movements in an out of farms because viruses will typically survive longer in cooler wet environments typically that are see in spring.

Dr. Becton notes, with deceasing pathogens being identified, spring is a great time to start to assess what could potential plans for elimination look like, knowing that warmer months are ahead. SHIC'S domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports can be accessed at swinehealth.org.
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