Near Real Time Global Swine Health Monitor Coming

The Swine Health Information Center is helping fund what they call a near-real-time global swine health monitor that would track news from around the world so that producers can know what’s happening nearly as it happens.

Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg said the pork industry needs to do a better job being prepared for any sort of disease outbreak.

“This is a systematic way that we can monitor for changes in swine health status in new diseases and emerging diseases, in different diseases around the world and help to inform us so that we can be better prepared should they get here.”

That will include monitoring what is considered “soft” news, veterinarians, news outlets, word of mouth, and “hard” news, which is researchers, government agencies, etc.

Sundberg said it’s time the industry is proactive.

“We can’t just sit and wonder what’s going to happen next. We have to start that conversation, look at ways we could potentially prevent an infection directly on the farm rather than in some office someplace. Prevent and prepare so we’re better able to respond.”

Sundberg said the system should be up, though not at full effectiveness and speed, before the end of the year.

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