New swine health center proposed to help US pork industry prepare for disease outbreaks 

To better prepare for disease challenges impacting swine, the US National Pork Board (NPB) is considering a proposal to set up a National Swine Health Information Center, which will be initially funded by the Pork Checkoff, a pork producers' and pork product importers' pooled fund.

The center was proposed by Harry Snelson, of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), and Craig Rowles, of Elite Pork, during the recent Iowa State University Swine Disease Conference.

Rowles said the center would serve as a tool to help implement swine industry preparedness, enhance and supplement non-regulatory disease response, and improve swine health management.

The center's direction would be mapped out by a board comprising representatives from the NPB, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and AASV.

Rowles said the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) would be tapped to help the new center gather geospatial data with potential disease.

"If approved and funded," Snelson said, "the Center would work towards recognizing and filling the resource and knowledge gaps and would establish a diagnostic and surveillance system that searches for the introduction of emerging diseases."

Rowles pointed out that the Swine Health Information Center would not be specifically responsible for a disease response plan, and neither would it duplicate the functions of AASV, NPPC or NPB. He explained it is important for the pork industry to be prepared for the next emerging swine disease, which he said would certainly come. "We can't expect USDA alone to protect our herds from emerging diseases," he said. "Better state-federal-industry response coordination is essential."

Snelson said that with the center, whose goal is to monitor swine diseases with access to the combined resources of swine veterinarians, producers, researchers, diagnosticians and state and federal animal health officials, "we will be better prepared to respond to the next emerging disease and will not get caught again with our pants down."