CWSHIN Blister Model Helps Demonstrate Freedom from FMD

Mar 08, 2023

The Manager of CWSHIN says, by reporting all incidents of blisters to their swine herd practitioners, pork producers can add to the body evidence that Canada remains free of Foot and Mouth Disease.

Seneca Valley virus, which causes symptoms identical to Food and Mouth disease is discussed as part of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network's just released swine disease surveillance report for the fourth quarter of 2022.

CWSHIN Manager Dr. Jette Christensen notes Seneca Valley found at a Manitoba assembly yard this past summer triggered a temporary halt to western Canadian cull sow exports pending a foreign animal disease investigation.

Clip-Dr. Jette Christensen-Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network:

There's been a lot of wok done by the CVO offices in Manitoba and CFIA and by Manitoba Pork Council to resolve this situation.And now CWSHIN has a small contribution to support trade with culled sows and that is our blister model.We started building up that blister model with a survey sent out to practitioners.

We ask them whether they have seen blisters, whether they have discussed blisters with their clients and so forth.Based on those surveys, we get some data and we build a model to support that western Canadian commercial swine premises and small scale producers are free from viral infectious diseases that cause blisters..

So far the model has been updated every quarter and we've reached the level where we can say "the probability that we are free from these infectious viral vesicular diseases such as foot and mouth disease and Seneca Valley virus is about 95 per cent," which is very good.

Dr. Christensen says every record of awareness of blisters adds to the body of evidence so producers can help by calling their swine practitioners if they see blisters.

Source : Farmscape.ca

Video: What It Takes to Stop African Swine Fever - Dr. Jishu Shi

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Jishu Shi, Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Kansas State University, discusses African swine fever prevention and vaccine development. He explains why ASF differs from classical swine fever and swine influenza, how the disease threatens trade and pork production, why immunization safety remains a critical hurdle, and what producers can do now to reduce the risk of introduction. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Before a safe and efficacious vaccine for ASF can be commercialized, what we really have is prevention."

Meet the guest: Dr. Jishu Shi is Professor of Vaccine Immunology and the Dr. Wayne & Hilda Appleton Endowed Professor at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He directs the Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation and the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health. A veterinarian and vaccine immunologist, Dr. Shi has focused on vaccines for pigs and has worked on African swine fever vaccine development, control, diagnostics, and international training since 2018. Learn more from Dr. Jishu Shi on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.