By Jamie Martin
The Swine Health Information Center has announced funding for a new group of research projects designed to improve disease preparedness and strengthen health protection for swine herds across the United States. These projects support the Center’s 2025 Plan of Work, which guides efforts in information improvement, risk mitigation, emerging disease response, surveillance, and prioritization of major pathogens.
The 12 newly funded projects began in fall 2025 and will continue for up to 15 months. Each project addresses a key challenge related to swine health and provides new tools for producers, veterinarians, and diagnostic laboratories.
Several projects expand national disease information systems. One adds the Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to the Domestic Swine Disease Surveillance network, improving data coverage. Another brings Iowa State University’s diagnostic coding system to the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory to support consistent reporting.
Research teams are also focusing on reducing risks around animal movement and facility operations. Studies are underway to measure seasonal contamination patterns on trailers at harvest plants, evaluate dock protocols that reduce virus transfer to market hog trailers, and investigate pathogen levels near dead animal disposal sites on PRRSV-negative farms. Another project examines movement patterns that contribute to PRRS outbreaks, including trucks, sites, and personnel.
To prepare for emerging diseases, researchers are testing the performance of a Japanese encephalitis virus diagnostic assay using real field samples. Additional surveillance projects are analyzing a recent PEDV variant, improving global monitoring of PRRSV-2 variants, and enhancing a workflow used to detect multiple respiratory viruses from oral fluid samples.
Two projects address pathogen prioritization. One evaluates PCR tests to differentiate PEDV strain types, while another develops a modernized, risk-based framework that will help update national swine pathogen matrices.
These projects were selected from 57 proposals submitted by 19 institutions, supported by $1.5 million in available funds. Six more projects will be announced soon through a co-funding partnership. Together, these efforts aim to strengthen disease awareness, preparedness, and response for the US pork industry.
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Categories: National