Why Precision Livestock Farming?

With the growth of the population, we will need to produce more food. It is projected that there will be 60% more need for food by 2050. We aren’t going to have more land for farming - so intensification is a must. There is a very complicated supply chain, with many stakeholders with different motivations, goals, and needs. Fewer farmers are attending more animals, with less qualified labor available. Environmental impacts must be monitored and adjusted. And animal health and welfare must be supported. How do we make this complicated system more efficient and work together to move forward, creating and communicating positive environmental effects, supporting animal health and welfare, and producing safe food in a sustainable manner? Precision livestock farming is an important set of technologies that help the producer and veterinarian monitor animal health and welfare, as well as the environmental impact of the animal production system in real time. If done properly, these technologies produce a significant value-add for the producer and the veterinarian.

One health and biosecurity: a safeguard against diseases

One Health is a concept that relates to the intricate relationship between animal, human, and the environment with regards to health and disease.It is an approach to tackle complex public health problems that involve multiple disciplines, for example: emerging zoonotic diseases, food safety and selection of antimicrobial resistant pathogens. The increasing interdependence of people with animals and their products has brought One Health to the forefront of the veterinary and medical professions. Fundamental to the One Health concept is the importance of coordinated multidisciplinary collaboration working locally, nationally and internationally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment.

Preventing Salmonella Spread in Horses

“Measures geared toward minimizing contagious infectious GI disease spread and educating owners must be part of the care veterinarians provide. Not meeting these standards of care represents a failure to uphold ethical responsibilities to patients and clients. Work as a team with your veterinarian to improve infection prevention practices and help advance the equine industry in this area as a whole.”

Swine Enteric Salmonellosis

Salmonella enterica serotype I 4,[5],12:i:- has been increasingly isolated from swine. However, its pathogenic potential is not well characterized. Analysis of swine cases confirmed a strong positive association between isolation of I 4,[5],12:i:- and lesions of enteric salmonellosis and suggested a similar pathogenic potential as that for Salmonella Typhimurium

Monitoring Healthcare - Associated Infections at the National Level

Controlling hospital acquired infections is a great example of value based care, because lowering infections improves outcomes and lower costs. Hence improving value provided to patients (and owners).

This an excellent presentation where Dr Dawn Sievert from CDC talked about the creation of the NHSN.

There is a lot we can learn in animal health from this experience and what the challenges and opportunities were.

#NIAA #AnitibioticSymposim

Role of the gut microbiome in reducing antimicrobial use in swine

This is a very interesting presentation at the NIAA Antibiotic Symposium 2018.

Researchers are constantly trying to understand the important role the gut microbiome plays in health and disease. This work can shed some light on the role the microbiome could have on antibiotic stewardship.