By Alice McFarlane

Researchers look at the risk of disease transmission through feed ingredients

Dec 31, 2021 | 3:18 PM

MELFORT, Sask. — The role of animal feed in the transmission of viral diseases was first identified in 2014 during the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus epidemic in North America.

Scientists have conducted numerous studies to compile evidence supporting the reality of this risk.

Disease transmission through pathogens in soy-products prompted Kansas State University to launch a project on behalf of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC).

SHIC executive director Dr. Paul Sundberg said feed ingredients are imported from different foreign animal disease positive countries and soybean meal appears to be effective in harboring and transmitting viruses.

“This is part of a series of investigations. First, we had to figure out if feed ingredients could be a risk. I think we’ve got that answered, that the answer is most probably yes,” Sundberg said.

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The risk may be small, but Sundberg said any risk should be mitigated and that window deserves to be closed.

“We needed to answer questions about the detection of foreign animal diseases in feed ingredients and we worked on the lab and the sampling issues to be able to do that in different feed ingredients,” he said.

Sundberg said in order to provide information to producers about the risks of foreign animal diseases in these ingredients, the next step is to be able to offer farmers’ analysis of how much of these ingredients are actually being imported and what countries are positive for foreign animal diseases that are exporting their feed ingredients to the U.S.

Sundberg said the next step is an additional project that will look at how those feed ingredients are distributed around the country.

Information on the research is available at swinehealth.org on what producers can do right now to decrease feed associated risks.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW