MORBIDITY/MORTALITY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT OF SWINE IN THE UNITED STATES

A national survey on swine health was conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System ( NAHMS ) from December 1989 through January 1991. The survey sample was designed in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS ) in order to provide inferences about the nation's hog population, 95 percent of which was represented. The program consisted of two parts: the first was a general farm management and policy questionnaire that was completed by 1,661 producers. The second part of the program was a monitoring phase that took place over a three-month period for each of 712 participating producers. Per litter estimates for the national population showed an average of 9.9 piglets born alive and 8.4 weaned. Estimates attributed 57 percent of all illnesses in piglets born and weaned to scours; forty-two percent of scours cases occurred in piglets between 1 and 3 days old. Estimates attributed 43 percent of piglet deaths to being crushed (laid on) ; sixty-four percent of such deaths occurred in piglets between 1 and 3 days old. National estimates for preventive or treatment action showed that tail docking and teeth clipping were performed on approximately 87 and 84 percent of piglets, respectively, while approximately 44 percent of piglets received vaccinations of any kind. It was estimated that eighty-nine percent of piglets received iron shots and sixty percent of piglets received antibiotic injections. Nearly fifteen percent of swine farms were estimated to have nitrate levels exceeding human limits established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Contact for this paper: Eric BushNAHMS, swine, monitoring, epidemiology, production, morbidity, mortality, births, litter size, prevention, disease, docking, teeth clipping, vaccination, injection, antibiotics, water quality, Livestock Production/Industries,

Farm-Level Impacts of Banning Growth- Promoting Antibiotic Use in U.S. Pig Grower/Finisher Operations

Antibiotics have been used by pig producers for several decades, and are now used routinely. This study documents the current productivity and economic impacts of the use of antibiotics for growth promotion (AGP) by pig grower/finishers at the farm level. We evaluate the impacts of an AGP ban, and use of AGP by all pig grower/finishers for 61S90 days (a more production-efficient level), using data from the National Animal Health Monitoring System Swine 2000 Survey. Findings indicate that pig productivity improves with AGP. Relative to current use, an AGP ban would decrease producer profits by $1,400 per 1,020-head barn, and profits would increase by$1,992 for each grower/finisher barn when AGP is fed for 61 to 90 days. There is increasing concern about the use of antibiotics in animal production, partly because of the selection for antibiotic resistance. Thus, a careful examination of the value of AGP in pork production is warranted.antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, growth promotion, pigs, production, Agricultural and Food Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Trends in Salmonella shedding by U.S. market hogs, swine 2000.

USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System’s (NAHMS) conducted a study of the health and management of swine as part of the Swine ‘95 study and Swine 2000 study. The studies were conducted in the top swine states in the U.S. A subset of participating farms allowed collection of fecal samples (50 samples per farm) from pens containing late finishers. The same methodology and laboratory was used in both studies so comparison of results provides a measure of change in on-farm Salmonella status between 1995 and 2000. Samples were tested for Salmonella and questionnaires were used to obtain management data regarding feed management, environmental conditions, vaccination policies, and other factors. The percent of farms with at least one positive sample was 38% in 1995 and 34% in 2000. The percent of samples positive was 6% in 1995 and 2000. The percent of pens positive was 17% in 1995 and 16% in 2000. In contrast to trends in slaughter HACCP Salmonella samples, the similarity in on-farm Salmonella status suggests that on-farm Salmonella intervention has yet to be initiated on a wide scale by producers and that on-farm Salmonella status is not directly related to slaughter Salmonella status

PRODUCER INCENTIVES FOR ANTIBIOTIC USE IN U.S. PORK PRODUCTION

Antibiotics have been used in animal production for several decades. Antibiotics are used routinely now in pork production (NAHMS 2002). There is increasing concern about the use of antibiotics in animal production. There is no hard evidence supporting the link of antibiotic use in animals to observations of antibiotic resistance infections in people. Nonetheless a careful examination of the value of continued antibiotic use in agricultural, and in pork production in particular is warranted. Therefore, the objective of our study is to validate the productivity and economic impacts of antibiotic use for pig producers at the farm level. We use data from the NAHMS 2000 swine survey. We estimate the combined affects from antibiotics used for growth promotion (AGP) and antibiotics used for disease prevention (ADP) on 4 productivity measures. We also estimate the economic impact of AGP and ADP for individual pig producers. We estimate these 4 productivity measures using seemingly unrelated regression analysis. We evaluate 4 scenarios which ban antibiotic use, and use a simple synthetic firm partial budget to estimate the economic consequences of these scenarios. We find that pig productivity is improved with AGP, but decreased with ADP. A total ban on AGP would cost pig producers $1,271 in lost profits per 1,020 head pig barn. A total ban on ADP however, would result in pig producers improving profits slightly. This occurs because productivity is negatively influenced by ADP. A ban of both AGP and ADP results in a small loss of producer profits ($376/1,020 head barn) because of the offsetting effects of ADP compared to AGP. Producers have higher profits when AGP and ADP are applied at levels where pig productivity is maximized. In this case, producers gain $4,146 for each 1,020 head barn compared to no antibiotic use.Livestock Production/Industries,

Prevalence of Pathogenic \u3ci\u3eYersinia enterocolitica\u3c/i\u3e Strains in Pigs in the United States

Yersinia enterocolitica is considered an important food-borne pathogen impacting the pork production and processing industry in the United States. Since this bacterium is a commensal of swine, the primary goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in pigs in the United Sates using feces as the sample source. A total of 2,793 fecal samples were tested for its presence in swine. Fecal samples were collected from late finisher pigs from 77 production sites in the 15 eastern and midwestern pork-producing states over a period of 27 weeks (6 September 2000 to 20 March 2001). The prevalence of ail-positive Y. enterocolitica was determined in samples using both a fluorogenic 5’ nuclease PCR assay and a culture method. The mean prevalence was 13.10% (366 of 2,793 fecal samples tested) when both PCR- and culture-positive results were combined. Forty-one of 77 premises (53.25%) contained at least one fecal sample positive for the ail sequence. The PCR assay indicated a contamination rate of 12.35% (345/2,793) compared to 4.08% (114/2,793) by the culture method. Of the 345 PCR-positive samples, 252 were culture negative, while of the 114 culture-positive samples, 21 were PCR negative. Among 77 premises, the PCR assay revealed a significantly (P \u3c 0.05) higher percentage (46.75%, n = 36 sites) of samples positive for the pathogen (ail sequence) than the culture method (22.08%, n = 17 sites). Thus, higher sensitivity, with respect to number of samples and sites identified as positive for the PCR method compared with the culture method for detecting pathogenic Y. enterocolitica, was demonstrated in this study. The results support the hypothesis that swine are a reservoir for Y. enterocolitica strains potentially pathogenic for humans

USDA Multi-Agency Project: Collaboration in Animal Health, Food Safety & Epidemiology (CAHFSE)

Despite producer interventions, on-going research and continued surveillance, food borne outbreaks continue and multiple antimicrobial resistant bacteria have emerged. A multi-agency APublic Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance@ was developed to address these concerns and one USDA response was the development of the Collaboration in Animal Health, Food Safety and Epidemiology (CAHFSE), a partnership among the Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS. The objective of CAHFSE is to implement and expand a surveillance system patterned after the APHIS National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) which focuses on animal health and food safety. Swine is the first commodity in CAHFSE. To date, fecal samples from 8 farms have been collected and processed for culture of Salmonella, Campylobacter, Enterococci and E. coli. Preliminary results indicate that all four bacteria have been recovered from a number of operations and are currently being characterized

Neutral Hydrogen in the Interacting Magellanic Spirals NGC 4618/4625

Asymmetry is a common trait in spiral galaxies and is particularly frequent among Magellanic spirals. To explore how morphological and kinematic asymmetry are affected by companion galaxies, we analyze neutral hydrogen observations of the interacting Magellanic spirals NGC 4618 and 4625. The analysis of the H I distribution revealed that about 10% of the total H I mass of NGC 4618 resides in a looping tidal structure that appears to wrap all the way around the galaxy. Through calculations based on derived H I profiles, we show that NGC 4618 and 4625 are no more asymmetric than non-interacting Magellanic spirals analyzed by Wilcots & Prescott (2004). We also derive rotation curves for the approaching and receding sides of each galaxy. By fitting the mean curves with an isothermal halo model, we calculate dynamical masses of 4.7 times 10^{9} M_sun and 9.8 times 10^{9} M_sun out to 6.7 kpc, for NGC 4618 and 4625 respectively. While the rotation curves had systematically higher velocities on the receding side of each galaxy, the effect was no more pronounced than in studies of non-interacting spirals (Swaters et. al. 1999). The degree of interaction-driven asymmetry in both galaxies is indistinguishable from the intrinsic degree of asymmetry of lopsided galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Investigating the relationship between mitochondrial genetic variation and cardiovascular-related traits to develop a framework for mitochondrial phenome-wide association studies

BACKGROUND: Mitochondria play a critical role in the cell and have DNA independent of the nuclear genome. There is much evidence that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation plays a role in human health and disease, however, this area of investigation has lagged behind research into the role of nuclear genetic variation on complex traits and phenotypic outcomes. Phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS) investigate the association between a wide range of traits and genetic variation. To date, this approach has not been used to investigate the relationship between mtDNA variants and phenotypic variation. Herein, we describe the development of a PheWAS framework for mtDNA variants (mt-PheWAS). Using the Metabochip custom genotyping array, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA variants were genotyped in 11,519 African Americans from the Vanderbilt University biorepository, BioVU. We employed both polygenic modeling and association testing with mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) to explore the relationship between mtDNA variants and a group of eight cardiovascular-related traits obtained from de-identified electronic medical records within BioVU. RESULTS: Using polygenic modeling we found evidence for an effect of mtDNA variation on total cholesterol and type 2 diabetes (T2D). After performing comprehensive mitochondrial single SNP associations, we identified an increased number of single mtSNP associations with total cholesterol and T2D compared to the other phenotypes examined, which did not have more significantly associated SNPs than would be expected by chance. Among the mtSNPs significantly associated with T2D we identified variant mt16189, an association previously reported only in Asian and European-descent populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our replication of previous findings and identification of novel associations from this initial study suggest that our mt-PheWAS approach is robust for investigating the relationship between mitochondrial genetic variation and a range of phenotypes, providing a framework for future mt-PheWAS

The Efficacy of Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine) Antivenom Versus Placebo Plus Optional Rescue Therapy on Recovery From Copperhead Snake Envenomation: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial

Study objective: Copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) envenomation causes limb injury resulting in pain and disability. It is not known whether antivenom administration improves limb function. We determine whether administration of antivenom improves recovery from limb injury in patients envenomated by copperhead snakes. Methods: From August 2013 through November 2015, we performed a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled, clinical trial to evaluate the effect of ovine Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (ovine) (CroFab; FabAV) antivenom therapy on recovery of limb function in patients with copperhead snake envenomation at 14 days postenvenomation. The study setting was 18 emergency departments in regions of the United States where copperhead snakes are endemic. Consecutive patients aged 12 years or older with mild- to moderate-severity envenomation received either FabAV or placebo. The primary outcome was limb function 14 days after envenomation, measured by the Patient-Specific Functional Scale. Additional outcomes included the Patient-Specific Functional Scale at other points; the Disorders of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand, Lower Extremity Functional Scale, and Patient’s Global Impression of Change instruments; grip strength; walking speed; quality of life (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Physical Fucntion-10); pain; and analgesic use. Results: Seventy-four patients received study drug (45 FabAV, 29 placebo). Mean age was 43 years (range 12 to 86 years). Fifty-three percent were men, 62% had lower extremity envenomation, and 88% had mild initial severity. The primary outcome, the least square mean Patient-Specific Functional Scale score at 14 days postenvenomation, was 8.6 for FabAV-treated subjects and 7.4 for placebo recipients (difference 1.2; 95% confidence interval 0.1 to 2.3; P1�4.04). Additional outcome assessments generally favored FabAV. More FabAV-treated subjects experienced treatment- emergent adverse events (56% versus 28%), but few were serious (1 in each group). Conclusion: Treatment with FabAV reduces limb disability measured by the Patient-Specific Functional Scale 14 days after copperhead envenomation. [Ann Emerg Med. 2017;70:233-244.

Thermographic Imaging of the Space Shuttle During Re-Entry Using a Near Infrared Sensor

High resolution calibrated near infrared (NIR) imagery of the Space Shuttle Orbiter was obtained during hypervelocity atmospheric re-entry of the STS-119, STS-125, STS-128, STS-131, STS-132, STS-133, and STS-134 missions. This data has provided information on the distribution of surface temperature and the state of the airflow over the windward surface of the Orbiter during descent. The thermal imagery complemented data collected with onboard surface thermocouple instrumentation. The spatially resolved global thermal measurements made during the Orbiter s hypersonic re-entry will provide critical flight data for reducing the uncertainty associated with present day ground-to-flight extrapolation techniques and current state-of-the-art empirical boundary-layer transition or turbulent heating prediction methods. Laminar and turbulent flight data is critical for the validation of physics-based, semi-empirical boundary-layer transition prediction methods as well as stimulating the validation of laminar numerical chemistry models and the development of turbulence models supporting NASA s next-generation spacecraft. In this paper we provide details of the NIR imaging system used on both air and land-based imaging assets. The paper will discuss calibrations performed on the NIR imaging systems that permitted conversion of captured radiant intensity (counts) to temperature values. Image processing techniques are presented to analyze the NIR data for vignetting distortion, best resolution, and image sharpness. Keywords: HYTHIRM, Space Shuttle thermography, hypersonic imaging, near infrared imaging, histogram analysis, singular value decomposition, eigenvalue image sharpnes