Manhattan, KS (February 12, 2024) – The Swine Health Information Center and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) have partnered to fund a $1 million research program to enhance US prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities for Japanese encephalitis virus, a transboundary disease risk for US introduction.
SHIC’s strategic mission to identify risks to swine health includes global and domestic disease monitoring to maintain an acute awareness of emerging swine diseases around the world. Japanese encephalitis is an emerging zoonotic disease identified through global monitoring as a priority for North American prevention and preparedness activities. JEV is transmitted through the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes and biosecurity practices focused on mosquito control are key to reducing risk. The US is currently negative for this mosquito-borne virus which has waterbirds as a natural reservoir but is capable of infecting pigs, humans, and horses.
In 2022, an outbreak of JEV genotype IV spread rapidly across new geographic regions of Australia affecting breeding swine herds and causing reproductive failure, delayed farrowing, stillbirths, mummified fetuses, abortions, and weak piglets. This recent incursion of a new JEV genotype into areas previously free from disease warrants the need for a close investigation of this virus and its potential for incursion and establishment in the US. Understanding the potential impacts of JEV on pork production in the US is critical to protecting the health of the US swine herd as well as mitigating the risk of this emerging disease.
In response to this emerging disease, SHIC and FFAR have partnered to invite proposal submissions from qualified researchers for funding consideration to address identified research priorities for JEV, including topic areas of 1) transmission and epidemiology, 2) mosquito control, 3) diagnostics, 4) communication, 5) surveillance, 6) compatible cases, 7) challenge models, 8) vaccines, 9) cross-protection, 10) competent vectors, 11) role of wildlife, 12) novel hosts, and 13) viral sequencing. Proposal information and a detailed list of research priorities can be found here.