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1. Gene-edited pigs protected from PRRS
By University of Missouri
Bovine Veterinarian
December 8, 2015
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus was first detected in the U.S. in 1987. Pigs that contract the disease have extreme difficulty reproducing, don't gain weight and have a high mortality rate. To date, no vaccine has been effective, and the disease costs North American farmers more than $660 million annually. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Missouri, Kansas State University, and Genus plc have bred pigs that are not harmed by the disease.
"Once inside the pigs, PRRS needs some help to spread; it gets that help from a protein called CD163," said Randall Prather, distinguished professor of animal sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. "We were able to breed a litter of pigs that do not produce this protein, and as a result, the virus doesn't spread. When we exposed the pigs to PRRS, they did not get sick and continued to gain weight normally."
For years, scientists have been trying to determine how the virus infected pigs and how to stop it. Previously, researchers believed that the virus entered pigs by being inhaled into the lungs, where it attached to a protein known as sialoadhesin on the surface of white blood cells in the lungs. However, two years ago Prather's group showed that elimination of sialoadhesin had no effect on susceptibility to PRRS. A second protein, called CD163, was thought to "uncoat" the virus and allow it to infect the pigs. In their current study, Prather's team worked to stop the pigs from producing CD163.
"We edited the gene that makes the CD163 protein so the pigs could no longer produce it," said Kristin Whitworth, co-author on the study and a research scientist in MU's Division of Animal Sciences. "We then infected these pigs and control pigs; the pigs without CD163 never got sick. This discovery could have enormous implications for pig producers and the food industry throughout the world."
While the pigs that didn't produce CD163 didn't get sick, scientists also observed no other changes in their development compared to pigs that produce the protein.
The early-stage results of this research are promising. The University of Missouri has signed an exclusive global licensing deal for potential future commercialization of virus resistant pigs with the Genus, plc. If the development stage is successful, the commercial partner will seek any necessary approvals and registration from governments before a wider market release.
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2. Parks service plan to use satellites to track feral pigs
By Michael D. Regan, Staff
Christian Science Monitor
December 7, 2015
Officials released a plan to use satellites to track feral hogs that have been wreaking havoc in two national parks in East Tennessee. The fast-breeding, non-native species was introduced in the early 1900s in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Big South Fork National River Recreation.
The World Conservation Union found feral pigs are among the most destructive invasive species, largely because of their high reproductive potential and their influence on the environment.
The hogs in Tennessee are a hybrid of the European wild boar, and feral swine of purely domestic ancestry. Wildlife biologists say they attack native wildlife, disrupting ecosystems and spreading disease. Due to their omnivorous diet, the pigs can disrupt large segments of the food chain. Efforts to control the population through hunting and trapping have been less than successful. Since 1959, the NPS has killed an estimated 13,200 feral hogs in the national parks.
Limited information on their movements has also been a problem, according to the National Park Service (NPS). Wildlife biologists in Tennessee plan to use 20 GPS collars to track their movements, a technology similar to that which is used to study bears, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
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3. CWD Found in Southern Bighorn Mountains [WY]
MyBigHornBasin.com
December 8, 2015
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department found chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a cow elk that was found dead in the southern Bighorn Mountains. CWD is a fatal neurological disease of deer, elk and moose. The elk was found in elk hunt area 34 - an area that overlaps with deer hunt areas where CWD was previously documented and is bordered on the north by elk hunt area 35 where CWD had already been documented.
The elk was found by a landowner and reported to Game and Fish personnel on November 12 in Beaver Creek Canyon, which is about 15 miles west of Kaycee.
"This has been another active year for Game and Fish's CWD surveillance program. This is an important part of our public awareness program and of our ability to monitor this disease within the state," Scott Edberg, Deputy Chief of the Wildlife Division, said. Consistent with the Centers for Disease Control Game and Fish does not recommend people eat deer, elk or moose that test positive for CWD.
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4. Industry Stakeholders Invited to Equine Diseases Forum
NIAA News Release
December 8, 2015
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A new Equine Diseases Forum, hosted by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and the U.S. Animal Health Association, will be held January 19-21, 2016 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Denver, Colo. For the first time, equine professionals, industry leaders, veterinarians and regulatory animal health officials will gather for discussions of groundbreaking ideas for protecting equine health.
"The ultimate goal of the event is to strengthen disease communications, collaborations and implement disease control measures within the equine industry," said Dr. Katie Flynn, Equine Staff Veterinarian for the California Department of Food and Agriculture and moderator for the new Forum. "The segmentation of the equine industry has led to challenges as regulatory officials utilize traditional animal disease control methodologies. As demonstrated by the 2011 multistate Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) outbreak, state animal health officials struggled to quickly control the disease while communicating with the segmented and diverse industry."
This forum will work to identify new disease control technologies, to recognize areas for industry collaboration and to develop enhanced communications between health officials, veterinarians and the horse industry. Recent recurring outbreaks of EHV-1, vesicular stomatitis and equine infectious anemia emphasize the criticality for equine professionals to take time to be together, sit at the same table, discuss issues and offer real-world ideas.
"We are looking for innovative ideas to protect equine health," Flynn states. "So attendees should come with ideas, challenges that they have faced, and examples of successes and failures in past disease outbreaks."
For more information or to register online go to AnimalAgriculture.org/equineforum or contact the NIAA by calling 719-538-8843 or emailing niaa@animalagriculture.org.
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5. Colorado VS Update: Positive Diagnoses in 10 Counties
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
December 8, 2015
As of Dec. 2, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's (CDA) state veterinarian's office has 17 locations in 10 counties under quarantine after horses, mules, and cattle herds tested positive for vesicular stomatitis (VS).
"Now that most areas of the state have had several nights with freezing temperatures, the insect populations have subsided," said state veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM. "This has translated into rapidly decreasing case numbers, the last newly reported positive case was on Nov. 22. We are releasing quarantines based on the time from when the last new case of VS was recognized on a facility. Our hope is that we will be able to release the remaining quarantines in the coming weeks."
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6. National DHIA to Award Vet Student Scholarship
Wisconsin Ag Connection
December 7, 2015
The National Dairy Herd Information Association is offering a $1,500 scholarship to third-year and fourth-year college of veterinary medicine students. Applicants must be enrolled at a college that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
Judges will evaluate applicants based on overall interest as a veterinarian planning to work in dairy, involvement in dairy medicine and extra-curricular activities, and interest in using dairy software and dairy records to aid in dairy management and in improving animal health.
To apply for a National DHIA Scholarship for Veterinary Students, applicants must submit a letter of application and two reference letters. The letter of application requires applicants to submit information regarding their area of interest/specialty, academic background, experience using DHIA data, career plans, issues challenging dairy veterinary medicine and solutions to address those challenges.
For more information, contact the DHIA scholarship chair at: lilvaledairy@aol.com.
Applications are due by December 31.
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7. World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and CITES agree to collaborate on animal health and welfare issues worldwide to safeguard biodiversity and protect animals
OIE Press Release
December 4, 2015
Dr Bernard Vallat, Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and Mr John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), signed recently an agreement to deepen the collaboration between the two organisations. This agreement provides a formal foundation for expanded communication, cooperation and collaboration in order to protect CITES-listed species and conserve biodiversity by ensuring the efficient implementation of surveillance and disease control measures needed to protect animal and human health worldwide.
Geneva/Paris - Rabies, Ebola haemorrhagic fever, West Nile Fever, Avian influenza, Brucellosis, Foot and mouth disease: these are only a few examples of well-known, emerging, or re-emerging diseases that are originally found or circulated in wildlife and which potentially have huge human and animal health, or socio-economic consequences. Considering that over 60% of pathogens responsible for human diseases are of animal origin and that a majority of these pathogens are coming from wildlife, wildlife disease prevention, monitoring, and control are believed to be crucial factors for safeguarding biodiversity and public and animal health worldwide.
"The role played by the Veterinary Services in each country is essential to carry out early detection, prevention and surveillance of these diseases. Their transmission can be amplify by the global trade in wildlife and can lead to human diseases outbreaks as well as threatens livestock production and rural livelihoods, native wildlife populations and the health of ecosystems", said Dr Bernard Vallat.
Consequently, it is in the public interest that all diseases for which wildlife act as a reservoir are dealt with under a collaborative "One Health" approach whereby a sentinel benefit from greater attention of the international community can be achieved.
Within the framework of the overall mandate to improve animal health and welfare, the OIE assists its 180 Member Countries to address disease impacts on wild animals. In this regard, a permanent Working Group, composed of world-renowned experts, has been addressing wildlife diseases since 1994.
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