Activities of the Swine Health Information Center are guided by its annual Plan of Work detailing projects to address its five strategic priorities, including 1) improving swine health information, 2) monitoring and mitigating risks to swine health, 3) responding to emerging disease, 4) surveillance and discovery of emerging disease, and 5) swine disease matrices. Developed through stakeholder feedback and approved by the SHIC Board of Directors, the 2024 Plan of Work will be implemented by Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder and Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton with input from the board and SHIC Working Groups.
Proposals to address the priorities detailed in the 2024 Plan of Work are accepted on a rolling basis for review and funding recommendation. SHIC’s activities are guided by the Plan of Work while remaining nimble and responsive to industry needs. Stakeholder input and ideas are welcomed year-round to inform newly identified needs which may necessitate adapting the Plan of Work to fulfill SHIC’s mission. https://www.swinehealth.org/plan-of-work-input/ Input may include topic areas, research priorities, and identified industry needs in which SHIC should focus efforts, such as an emerging swine disease or an emerging swine health issue.
2024 Plan of Work Highlights
Improve Swine Health Information
- Domestic disease monitoring through veterinary diagnostic laboratory data collation via the Swine Disease Reporting System
- Domestic disease monitoring through voluntary reporting to the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project provides a foundation for industry capacity to report system level disease, respond rapidly, and maintain business continuity
- Japanese encephalitis virus information sharing website for US stakeholders will be monitored and updated as needed to ensure the latest information remains available
- A strategic summary of SHIC swine health and disease work-to-date will be explored as a resource to organize information for stakeholders
- Webinars to inform veterinarians and producers about emerging swine health issues will be offered
- Maintaining up-to-date swine disease fact sheets
- Ensure timely and valuable communications across all stakeholder audiences
Monitor and Mitigate Risks to Swine Health
- Customs and Border Protection and identifying high-risk product importation and traveler entry at borders
- Global disease monitoring to identify and inform international swine disease risks
- Foster information sharing with government and allied industry through international animal health organizations
- Adoption and measuring implementation of wean-to-harvest biosecurity research outcomes
- Enhancing biosecurity of mortality management practices to reduce disease transmission back to farm
- Transportation biosecurity of live pig and market haul
- Novel air filtration technologies for cost-effective bioexclusion on grow/finish sites
- Packing plant biocontainment for reducing pathogen spread back to the farm
- Cull sow and secondary market biosecurity and disease surveillance
- Engineering biosecurity controls through site construction design or strategic renovation
- Defining spillover risks of emerging diseases from wean-to-market pigs to sow herds
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