The Swine Health Information Center in partnership with the Pipestone Applied Research Group, South Dakota State University and Kansas State University has been exploring the prospects of using feed additives to reduce the risk of transmitting viruses through feed.

Swine Health Information Centre Executive Director Dr Paul Sundberg says 10 different products have been looked at that might be added to feed to mitigate potential risks from viral contamination.
Dr Sundberg explains:

“Of course we are interested in any virus contaminations but we're especially interested in, for example African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever and pseudorabies, those things that we don't have in the United States that we may be at risk of importing. Those diseases are of high interest.

“We're using Senacca Valley virus as the surrogate for all of those diseases because our research has shown Senacca Valley has the propensity to be able to survive longer in feed products than any of those other foreign animal viruses.

“If we are able to deal with Senacca Valley then we've caught all of the others that won't survive quite as long in feed products.

“High interest solutions, showing promise, include medium-chain fatty acids, formaldehyde products but there is a list of others that we're also looking at.

“I can say that our preliminary results show there most probably won't be any product that will absolutely sterilise feed components but we're looking at products that will be able to decrease the risk of transmission of viruses in the feed.”

Dr Sundberg says that research is getting close to the end and a report is expected shortly.

As reported by Bruce Cochrane, Farmscape.Ca