Newly funded: Tracking down senecavirus A in growing pig populations

In recognition of the value and need for research with direct application to the swine veterinary profession, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Foundation granted $25,111 to Guilherme Milanez Preis, PhD student in the Veterinary Medicine Graduate Program, and Cesar Corzo, DVM, MS, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, to assess senecavirus A (SVA) shedding and transmission in growing pig populations. SVA has circulated amongst the United States swine herd for more than 30 years, generating losses and anxiety among producers due to its resemblance to foot-and-mouth disease. This new study aims to describe SVA shedding patterns over time in growing pig populations and assess the state of infection in piglets after co-mingling in the nursery. This project will expand current knowledge on the epidemiology of SVA, especially during the grow-finishing phases, and will be key to enabling swine veterinarians to build the next steps toward controlling and eliminating SVA. The funding begins May 1, 2021, and will end April 30, 2022.

Image by the Argonne National Laboratory.