Researchers at iowa state university are applying the animal health and disease reduction capacity funding to address disease management in the two major animal industries in the state - swine and…

Researchers at iowa state university are applying the animal health and disease reduction capacity funding to address disease management in the two major animal industries in the state - swine and poultry. Swine: iowa accounts for approximately one third of the nation's swine inventory and markets approximately 50 million pigs per year, making IT the number one PIG producing state in the US. Pigs raised in iowa are continuously challenged by infectious diseases associated with common endemic viral and bacterial pathogens. To address this, better management strategies including prevention, treatment or cure via nutritional management strategies to minimize the impact of disease in growing pigs is a major research focus. Work is underway to understand the nutritional needs of pigs prone to disease pressures within iowa to enable greater growth performance and wellbeing. The impact of enteric rotavirus related disease in newly weaned pigs on nutrient utilization is also being studied. Poultry: the US poultry industry is a multibillion?dollar industry that annually loses up to 15% of its potential income due to disease. These economic losses are from many sources, including animal mortality, health care costs, product condemnation, and lower efficiency of production. Additionally, some pathogens that cause disease in poultry can also cause human health risks from consumption of improperly prepared, contaminated eggs and meat. The ongoing devastating economic and animal health consequences of avian disease are evident with the repeated outbreaks of highly path ogenic avian influenza. Velogenic newcastle and other communicative disease outbreaks also occur in US flocks threatening commercial production. Therefore, control of disease in poultry is urgently needed to enhance animal health and welfare, ensure economic viability of the US poultry industry, and protect human health and food safety. Understanding the identity, variation and functional asso ciations of proteins, genes and pathways that control response to poultry pathogens will help provide the necessary information for genetic improvement of disease resistance in poultry via classical genetic selection techniques, whole?genome selection, and natural regulators of the immune system. ISU researchers are using contemporary technologies to study the host?pathogen interaction; the work involves novel lines of chickens to enhance the ability to identify how certain birds are better at resisting disease. The overall goal is to enhance host genetic resistance to poultry pathogens. Enhanced host resistance will reduce the need for antibiotic use and will lower the pathogen burden in the birds and thereby improve animal health, production efficiency, pre?harvest food safety and human health. Target audience and outcomes: ISU researchers disseminate the results of their work through professional presentations, publications in peer?reviewed journals, extension programs, workshops and publications, presentations to commodity groups and members, meetings with farmers and producers, and educational programs for undergraduate, graduate and professional students. These audiences are provided with current information from the research projects in context so that IT can be readily applied and used. The overall goal of the work is to ensure the health and productivity of animals throughout the ecosystem, and to prevent the spread of disease. This work is of critical importance as IT underlies food safety and access, economic viability, agricultural productivity, and human health and wellness.