Manitoba Pork has expanded its swine health management team. In an effort to enhance response to disease threats Manitoba Pork has created the new position of Manager of Swine Health Programs.
Jenelle Hamblin brings to the position a background in animal production and microbiology and she has worked in the provincial agriculture department in extension and on developing programs.
Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson says her role to be to coordinate with federal and provincial animal health officials in developing new swine health programs and to work with producers and their veterinarians to make those programs available.
One of the things we’ve learned from Ontario is that they have set up this regional control and eradication model where they bring parties together to talk and share what they’ve learned in terms of disease management and also to identify hot spots so that neighbors know what’s going on and they’ve been able to control diseases like PEDv. They had something like 150 cases at one point. Now they’re down to about 15.
We’re doing some work right now on transporters and how they manage diseases in terms of moving animals from one farm to the next and we have to have some protocols in place. We want to make sure that people understand what a certified wash station is and what standards are being followed. We also have to prepare for major diseases, for example on emergency management planning.
Somebody has to go to those meetings with federal and provincial officials to look at long term plans to deal with really bad diseases that might happen. The secret to controlling those really bad diseases is to catch them early and to get them under control and to eradicate it as soon as possible.
~ Manitoba Pork, Andrew Dickson
Dickson notes we already have a system where veterinarians share information through a computer based reporting system and part of her job will be to work with veterinarians to enhance that program and, as diseases emerge, to share that information with producers early.
