The USDA initiated the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) in 1983 to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on animal health, management, and productivity across the United States. The NAHMS team conducts national studies on the health and health management of America’s domestic livestock populations. These studies are designed to meet the information needs of the industries associated with these commodities, as identified by people within those industries. Planning is underway for the fourth NAHMS swine survey.
The NAHMS objectives for the swine survey are:
- Describe trends in swine management practices related to inventories, housing practices, disease prevention, and mortality for four levels of production: gestation, farrowing, nursery, and grow/finish.
- Determine the prevalence and risk factors for respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, and systemic pathogens found in nursery and grow/finish-aged pigs and examine vaccine and antibiotic usage by pork producers to control diseases and production parameters. Specific diseases to be studied include: PRRS, Swine Influenza, Mycoplasma, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Streptococcus suis meningitis, Glasser’s disease, Ileitis, E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridia, PMWS, PDNS, and Erysipelas.
- Determine the prevalence of nonambulatory conditions and risk factors causing swine to be nonambulatory.
- Identify production practices adopted by producers to reduce nutrient content in manure and to describe current manure and nutrient management systems used on operations.
- Describe changes in management practices affecting pork safety and animal health in swine operations from 1990, 1995, and 2000, to 2006.
Previous swine studies have been conducted every 5 years since 1990. The study scheduled for 2005 was delayed due to a lack of available resources as a result of the Exotic Newcastle Disease outbreak in California. The latest study is now scheduled to begin in July, 2006 in 17 states representing 94% of U.S. pork production. Employees of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will contact as many as 5,000 swine producers to schedule interviews. Those producers agreeing to participate will then be contacted by a Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to conduct a follow-up interview and collect samples including sera and feces and possibly nasal and/or tonsil swabs starting in September, 2006. Final results from the survey will be reported in the spring, 2007.
Source:
USDA, NAHMS