Pooled surveillance testing for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital College, University of Minnesota, December 2020-April 2021.

To evaluate the use of asymptomatic surveillance, we implemented a surveillance program for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in a voluntary sample of individuals at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Self-collected anterior nasal samples were tested using real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in a 5:1 pooled testing strategy, twice weekly for 18 weeks. Positive pools were deconvoluted into individual tests, revealing an observed prevalence of 0.

Data standardization implementation and applications within and among diagnostic laboratories: integrating and monitoring enteric coronaviruses.

Every day, thousands of samples from diverse populations of animals are submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs) for testing. Each VDL has its own laboratory information management system (LIMS), with processes and procedures to capture submission information, perform laboratory tests, define the boundaries of test results (i.e.

Prediction of seasonal patterns of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus RNA detection in the U.S. swine industry.

We developed a model to predict the cyclic pattern of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) RNA detection by reverse-transcription real-time PCR (RT-rtPCR) from 4 major swine-centric veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs) in the United States and to use historical data to forecast the upcoming year's weekly percentage of positive submissions and issue outbreak signals when the pattern of detection was not as expected. Standardized submission data and test results were used. Historical data (2015-2017) composed of the weekly percentage of PCR-positive submissions were used to fit a cyclic robust regression model.

Macroepidemiological aspects of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus detection by major United States veterinary diagnostic laboratories over time, age group, and specimen.

This project investigates the macroepidemiological aspects of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) RNA detection by veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs) for the period 2007 through 2018. Standardized submission data and PRRSV real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) test results from porcine samples were retrieved from four VDLs representing 95% of all swine samples tested in NAHLN laboratories in the US. Anonymized data were retrieved and organized at the case level using SAS (SAS® Version 9.

Individual or Common Good? Voluntary Data Sharing to Inform Disease Surveillance Systems in Food Animals.

Livestock producers have traditionally been reluctant to share information related to their business, including data on health status of their animals, which, sometimes, has impaired the ability to implement surveillance programs. However, during the last decade, swine producers in the United States (US) and other countries have voluntarily begun to share data for the control and elimination of specific infectious diseases, such as the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv). Those surveillance programs have played a pivotal role in bringing producers and veterinarians together for the benefit of the industry.

Seroprevalence of Brucella canis antibodies in dogs entering a Minnesota humane society, Minnesota, 2016-2017.

Background: Canine brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella canis, is a zoonotic and largely reproductive disease of dogs. The disease is a recognized problem in canine breeding populations, and the risk to individuals assisting with birthing is well described. Prior to 2015, all cases of canine brucellosis reported to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health were in dogs used for breeding.

A Cell Proliferation and Inflammatory Signature Is Induced by Lawsonia intracellularis Infection in Swine.

causes porcine proliferative enteropathy. This is an enteric disease characterized by thickening of the wall of the ileum that leads to decreased growth of animals and diarrhea. In this study, we investigated the host response to infection by performing transcriptomic and pathway analysis of intestinal tissue samples from groups of infected and noninfected animals at 14, 21, and 28 days postchallenge.

The effects of zinc amino acid complex supplementation on the porcine host response to Lawsonia intracellularis infection.

Lawsonia intracellularis is among the most important enteric pathogens of swine and antibiotic alternatives are needed to help mitigate the negative effects of infection. Zinc is an essential trace mineral known to be crucial for maintaining intestinal barrier function and proper immune response. In this study, we investigated the porcine host response to L.

Metabolomics revealed diurnal heat stress and zinc supplementation-induced changes in amino acid, lipid, and microbial metabolism.

Heat stress (HS) dramatically disrupts the events in energy and nutrient metabolism, many of which requires zinc (Zn) as a cofactor. In this study, metabolic effects of HS and Zn supplementation were evaluated by examining growth performance, blood chemistry, and metabolomes of crossbred gilts fed with ZnNeg (no Zn supplementation), ZnIO (120 ppm ZnSO4), or ZnAA (60 ppm ZnSO4 + 60 ppm zinc amino acid complex) diets under diurnal HS or thermal-neutral (TN) condition. The results showed that growth performance was reduced by HS but not by Zn supplementation.

Diagnostics and surveillance for Swine influenza.

Collective knowledge regarding the occurrence of influenza among swine is incomplete due to inconsistent surveillance of swine populations. In this chapter, we review what surveillance activities exist and some of the practical challenges encountered. Furthermore, to support robust surveillance activities, accurate laboratory assays are needed for the detection of the virus and viral nucleic acids within clinical samples, or for antiviral antibodies in serum samples.

Comparative efficacy of three commercial PCV2 vaccines in conventionally reared pigs.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of three commercial porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccines. Twenty 3-week old pigs were injected with one of three different vaccines, A, B, C, or were unvaccinated controls. Pigs in group A were given a second dose at 6 weeks of age according to the manufacturer's protocol.

Real-time disease surveillance tools for the swine industry in Minnesota.

The ultimate challenge for integrating geographic information systems (GIS) into swine veterinary activities in the United States is to develop systems that deliver effective decision support to practising veterinarians seeking to control hyper-endemic viral diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Through collaboration with specialist swine veterinarians and state agencies we have developed two tools designed to enable real-time surveillance for swine diseases, based on capture of veterinary clinical data via the internet. The first is an ArcIMS-based Web-mapping application that enables authorised veterinarians to explore high resolution maps of swine premises throughout the state of Minnesota.