Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-32000-113-007-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2022
End Date: Dec 31, 2024
Objective:
Widespread improvements in farm biosecurity have all but eliminated the risk that certain livestock parasites pose to human health; documenting the extent of this success may reassure consumers and open export markets on more favorable terms. In the particular case of a swine parasite (Trichinella) that used to burden the health of Americans, international trade accords specify the need to test millions of animals in order to determine whether US pork meet the definition of a “negligeable risk compartment." The objective is to complete a study to determine whether Trichinella occurs in any of 3.1 million swine produced under the PQA+ productions standard.
Approach:
Completing the study will entail sampling the last 1 million animals, using the artificial digestion method on pools of 100, 1 gram samples.
