Utilize our existing african swine fever (ASF) transmission model to create a website dashboard that calculates the number of certified swine sample collectors (CSSCS) needed to effectively respond to…

Utilize our existing african swine fever (ASF) transmission model to create a website dashboard that calculates the number of certified swine sample collectors (CSSCS) needed to effectively respond to an ASF outbreak in the U.S. Intended beneficiaries include the creators of a national cssc training program, the national pork board, as well as state and federal animal health officials and industry veterinarians, who currently lack information about the number of CSSCS needed for surveillance and movement permitting within outbreak control zones. This is particularly challenging due to differences between ASF strains, which lead to epidemics of varying duration and magnitude and could be catastrophic if not effectively controlled. Activities to be performed will build on the success of previously funded nadprp projects that have supported the development of a transmission model (PIGSPREAD) for low, moderate, and high virulence ASF strains, and the collection of vast movement datasets from swine businesses across north carolina, south carolina, and virginia. Specifically, we will modify our existing ASF model to calculate the number of CSSCS needed based on factors such as movement networks, time taken to collect and deliver samples to surveillance laboratories within an 8-hour workday, and mandatory downtime between farm visits among other biosecurity rules. We will subsequently construct a dashboard that swine industry stakeholders can use to input information to generate region-specific information for their cssc training programs. This project will deliver a website dashboard that calculates the number of people that need to be trained via state cssc training programs based on key transmission factors such as ASF strain incubation and latency, as well as regional-specific information such as farm and laboratory locations and movement networks. In doing so, this project will help states to ensure sufficient blood samples can becollected from swine farms during an ASF outbreak, thus enabling effective disease surveillance and distribution of movement permits within outbreak control zones. Ultimately, this has the potential to help preserve swine business continuity in the event of an ASF emergency in the U.S.