President's message
 Your AASV in action!
Ahh, summer … a time for vacations, lake life, relaxing
with friends, and dealing with important issues that impact the
swine industry! Yes, your AASV is indeed in action and working for
you! I thought for this President‘s message, I would briefly
summarize a lot of the activities that your organization is
involved with. I think you‘ll be impressed.
PRRS Risk Assessment tool. At the World Pork Expo, the
AASV accepted the gracious gift of the PRRS Risk Assessment (PRA)
tool from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica. The current plan is to
continue to train AASV members on how to use this tool. Another
training session was completed during the World Pork Expo, where 14
AASV members were trained. Also, work has just begun on development
of the Web-based application for the PRA tool.
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) has solicited bids for the location of the
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), a site where
research on foreign animal diseases and zoonotic diseases can be
conducted. The AASV has been in touch with DHS and has offered
input on the location of the NBAF. Dr Harry Snelson is chairing a
committee representing animal agriculture to the DHS.
Japanese maximum residue levels. This critical issue is
under close scrutiny by experts in our membership, and the AASV
Pharmaceutical Committee is having an ongoing discussion of
possible AASV actions to inform and educate members on the
changes.
Pork Quality Assurance Plus program. The AASV is working
closely with the National Pork Board regarding the development of
this new program. It is expected that veterinarians will require
training before they educate and certify producers and that Pork
Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus will have a live-animal audit for a
selected sample of sites. The AASV will provide an opportunity for
PQA Plus training at the 2007 annual meeting in Orlando.
Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease Committee. This
committee is very active and is preparing action items for AASV
board consideration this fall, including a formal adoption of the
name “porcine circovirus associated disease” (PCVAD) and
finalizing a case definition. Future developments include a set of
standardized clinical guidelines to aid in diagnosis and a PCVAD
Web site for information dissemination.
PRRS Eradication Task Forces. As promised, we are
building teams! The North American PRRS Eradication Task Forces
held its first meeting at the Expo. One of the issues discussed was
development of a survey to accumulate feedback from members on the
feasibility of PRRS eradication. Members of the AASV are also in
the process of establishing state- and regional-based eradication
task forces and are initiating meetings. Finally, the PRRS
committee is working closely with the Ontario Swine Health Advisory
Board to develop standardized PRRS definitions for communicating
the status of herds and groups of pigs that cross the border from
Canada into the United States. It is hoped that this information
will aid veterinarian-to-veterinarian communication.
PRRS Coordinated Agricultural Project. The AASV was well
represented at a meeting hosted by the National Pork Board to
develop the foundation for the USDA National Research Initiative
PRRS Coordinated Agricultural Project 2 (PRRS CAP 2). Members of
AASV had strong input into the selection of the three focus areas
of the proposal (immunology, vaccinology, and virus ecology and
epidemiology), organizing the External Stakeholder Advisory Board,
and supporting the decision to fund multi-year projects. A number
of AASV members will also assist in writing the proposal. Bottom
line: we were at the table when it counted, representing your
interests.
Outreach. As always, the AASV is an educator, and our
outreach efforts are always outstanding. Recently, Dr Kerry
Keffaber organized and chaired the annual “Members Only”
session at the World Pork Expo. A detailed agenda included updates
on PRRS eradication, PRRS CAP 2 and PCVAD research, epidemiology,
and experiences with the use of new vaccines. Plenty of time was
allotted for discussion, and, as usual, AASV members had plenty of
good information to share. Also during the Expo, Dr Daryl Olsen led
the program planning committee meeting for the 2007 AASV Annual
Meeting, entitled “The AASV: From Good to Great.”
Whew! Were you surprised at the level of activity in our
organization? I am certainly impressed and overwhelmed by the
willingness of our members to serve. Many of you are pitching in
and making a positive impact on the swine industry and the
veterinary profession. The spirit of volunteerism in our
organization is strong and I cannot begin to thank those of you who
give so generously of your time. I would like to encourage more
members to consider assisting in AASV-related functions. You don‘t
need to wait for a call: simply contact your board representative,
the AASV office, or any of the AASV executive committee members and
let us know your intentions. We love hearing from you. Each and
every one of you has a voice and an important opinion to share.
This is your AASV, and I think you must agree … it is “in
action”!
-- Scott Dee
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