Healthy Competition in the Animal Health Industry

Pharmaceutical Industry, Five Forces, Animal Health, Veterinary, Competition, Economics, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Q13, Q18, L11, L22, L2, L66,

Farm-Level Evaluation of Agricultural and Environmental Policies with an Integrated Modeling System

Concern is growing throughout the United States about environmental and health risks associated with the use of agricultural chemicals. In response to these concerns, public policies designed to alter farming practices and the use of agricultural chemicals are being proposed and implemented. In addition, existing U.S. agricultural policies directed at price stabilization and income support are being reviewed for interdependencies with environmental measures. This paper provides a farm-level analysis of the interrelationships between the current U.S. commodity program for corn and selected environmentally motivated policies for controlling the use of corn rootworm insecticides. An integrated modeling system is employed that includes economic and biological components. The farm modeled is for opportunities for coordinating agricultural commodity and environmental policies. Policy adjustments are identified that can reduce corn rootworm insecticide use, improving the quality of the environment and limiting health risk, while only modestly affecting certainly equivalent farm income

Flexibility and the Integration of Commodity and Environmental Policies

Environmental and health risk concerns associated with the use of agricultural chemicals in the United States are increasing. In response, public policies designed to alter farming practices and the use of agricultural chemicals are being proposed and implemented. In addition, agricultural price stabilization and income support policies are being reviewed for environmental implications. This paper provides a farm-level analysis of the interrelationships between the current U.S. commodity program for corn and selected policies for controlling the use of corn rootworm insecticides. The farm modeled is for Chickasaw County, Iowa. Results show significant opportunities for coordinating agricultural commodity and environmental policies. Corn rootworm insecticide use can be reduced with only modest effects

Swine Veterinary Internship Program: Enhancing the Value of the Veterinary Internship

The Swine Veterinary Internship Program (SVIP) at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine (ISU CVM) was developed and implemented to provide students an opportunity to obtain swine specific skills and knowledge that complements the veterinary curriculum early in their veterinary education, to learn how to conduct field research, and communicate the results in written and oral forms. The expertise obtained from the program makes students more attractive to future employers and more likely to exceed in their careers

Development and Validation of an Objective Risk Scoring System for Assessing the Likelihood of Virus Introduction in Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus-Free Sow Farms in the US

The lack of validated tools to predict how long sow farms will remain PRRS virus-free following successful elimination of the virus has deterred veterinarians and producers from attempting to eliminate the PRRS virus from sow farms. The aim of this study was to use the database of PRRS Risk Assessments for the Breeding Herd in PADRAP to develop and validate an objective risk scoring system for predicting the likelihood of virus introduction in PRRS virus-free sow farms in the US. To overcome the challenges of dealing with a large number of variables, group lasso for logistic re-gression (GLLR) was applied to a retrospective dataset of PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd surveys com-pleted for 704 farms to develop the risk scoring system. The validity of the GLLR risk scoring system was then evalu-ated by testing its predictive ability on a dataset from a long-term prospective study of 196 sow farms to assess risk factors associated with how long PRRS virus-free sow farms remained PRRS virus-free. Receiver operator characteris-tic(ROC) curves were estimated to compare the performance of the GLLR risk scoring system to the risk scoring sys-tem based on expert opinion (EO), currently used in the PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd, for predicting whether herds remained PRRS virus-free for 130 weeks. The GLLR risk scoring system (AUC, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.67 - 0.84) performed significantly better than the EO risk scoring system (AUC, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.27 - 0.46) for predicting whether to sow farms in the prospective study survived for 130 weeks (p \u3c 0.001). Dividing farms into 3 risk groups (low, medium and high) using a low and high cutoff values for the GLLR risk score was informative as the differences in the KM survival curves for the 3 groups were both clinically meaningful and statistically significant. The GLLR risk scoring system used in conjunction with the PRRS Risk Assessment for the Breeding Herd survey delivered through PADRAP appears to have the potential to help veterinarians predict the likelihood of virus introduction in PRRS vi-rus-free sow farms in the US

Effect of injection tool on incidence of head and neck abscesses at slaughter

Objective: To test the effect of injection device (conventional syringe and needle versus needle-free injection device [NFID]) on the incidence of head and neck abscesses at slaughter. Materials and methods: Pigs raised under antibiotic-free (ABF) conditions (n=3424) were vaccinated first with combined Mycoflex and Circoflex (Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc, St Joseph, Missouri) and second with ER Bac Plus (Pfizer Inc, Pfizer Animal Health, New York, New York), each via either conventional syringe and needle (Needle) or NFID. The first vaccination was given on the right side of the neck 1 day post weaning and the second on the left side of the neck 70 days post weaning. Four treatment groups were based on the vaccination injection methods: Needle-Needle; Needle-NFID; NFID-Needle; and NFID-NFID. Results: At slaughter, 3134 carcasses were evaluated for head and neck abscesses. The incidence of abscesses among the treatment groups did not differ (P\u3e.05). More abscesses occurred on the right side of the neck (0.45%; P\u3c.05) than on the left (0.13%). Overall abscess incidence (0.57%) was less than that typically observed in similarly sourced ABF pigs (2.51%) produced under field conditions and harvested at the same processing facility. Implications: Under the conditions of this study, incidence of head and neck abscesses at slaughter does not differ by injection device. Lower abscess incidence in study pigs than in ABF pigs under field conditions may be attributed to picking up small pigs for vaccination, frequent changing of needles, and not hurrying the vaccination process

Quantitative Risk from Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Salmonella and Campylobacter Due to Treatment of Dairy Heifers with Enrofloxacin for Bovine Respiratory Disease

The objective of this study was to evaluate the human health impact of using fluoroquinolones to treat bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in dairy heifers less than 20 months of age. Specifically, this study quantified the probability of persistent symptoms in humans treated with a fluoroquinolone, for a fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter, Salmonella, or multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella infection acquired following the consumption of ground beef. To comply with a Food and Drug Administration requirement for approval of enrofloxacin use in dairy heifers, a binomial event tree was constructed following Food and Drug Administration guidance 152. Release was estimated from the slaughter of dairy cattle carrying fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria attributed to the proposed use in dairy heifers. For exposure, human foodborne exposure to Campylobacter, Salmonella, and MDR Salmonella after consumption of ground beef was estimated. The consequence assessment included illness, fluoroquinolone treatment, and persistent symptoms in patients treated with a fluoroquinolone. Using best available data to estimate the parameters and probabilities of each event, stochastic simulation was used to represent uncertainty and variability in many of the parameters. A scenario analysis was performed to evaluate the uncertainty of the following parameters: (1) probability of resistance development in treated animals, (2) portion of illnesses attributable to ground beef, and (3) probability of persistent symptoms in patients 18 years of age and over treated with a fluoroquinolone. The population at risk was restricted to people 18 years of age and over, as fluoroquinolones are not labeled for treatment of gastroenteritis in children. The mean annual increased risk of cases in the U.S. population (18 years of age and over) where compromised fluoroquinolone treatment resulted in persistent symptoms was estimated to be 1 in 61 billion (one case every 293 years) for Salmonella, 1 in 33 billion (one case every 158 years) for MDR Salmonella, and 1 in 2.8 billion (one case every 13 years) for Campylobacter

Comparison of shower-in and shower-in plus bench entry protocols for prevention of environmental contamination due to personnel entry in a commercial swine facility

Objective: To determine if the addition of a bench entry system in a commercial swine facility with a shower lowers the risk of personnel introducing environmental contamination. Materials and methods: Fluorescent powder was used to assess the bench entry system by simulating environmental contamination carried on the footwear of personnel entering a commercial swine farm. On each of ten days, four female employees entered the premises, stepped through the fluorescent powder, performed bench entry procedures, and showered into the farm. For ten additional replicates, the bench was removed and regular farm protocols were followed. The fluorescent powder contamination was evaluated with a grid system at four sampling points including before the bench, after the bench, before the shower, and after the shower. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine if there was a difference in the number of contaminated grid cells found at each sampling between the treatment groups. Results: Fluorescent powder was found after the shower on two study days in which the bench was removed but none when the bench was in place. There was a significant difference in contamination found directly after the bench between days with bench entry and days that the bench was removed, but this was not observed at any of the other sampling points. Implications: A bench entry system may decrease the risk that pathogens reach the clean side of the shower, but improved protocols and additional layers of biosecurity are needed