(Ames) In 2013, when the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus made its way to the U.S., the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab had to design a high-capacity test to keep up with the outbreak.
Now, there’s another disease that’s made a global spread. The Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), which is a mosquito-borne disease common in southeast Asia, found its way to Australia in 2022. While it hasn’t made it to the U.S., it’s still been a high-priority target for researchers. Dr. Rahul Nelli, a research assistant professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State University, has been heading up the project at the ISU diagnostic lab and says there are many signs of JEV to look out for in livestock.
Dr. Nelli says the prevention strategy for JEV starts with being able to accurately detect it in swine.
Since the samples of JEV are very controlled, it could take about a year for the diagnostic lab test to be validated on known samples from Australia to confirm its accuracy. Once the detection method is consistent, Dr. Nelli says that the focus can shift to biosecurity.
Scientists need to do more studies on JEV as it affects more than just pigs.
As with any foreign animal disease outbreak, a JEV outbreak could cause significant damage to the pork industry, with the potential for a one to two percent drop in U.S. pork production and economic losses of up to $612 million. For more information, visit swinehealth.org.
