The federal government is investing up to $3.1 million to improve how Canada detects and tracks diseases affecting pigs.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald announced the funding at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Canadian Pork Council will administer the project, with diagnostic and research work centred at the college.
The exact federal contribution is up to $3,111,486 through the AgriAssurance Program’s National Industry Association Component.
The project will develop, validate and upgrade multiplex testing technology. A multiplex test can screen a single sample for several viruses simultaneously, eliminating the need to run separate tests for each suspected disease.

Steve Seto, Communications & Marketing Coordinator with SaskPork said when the federal government makes such an announcement is sends a positive message.
“We look at it as just another investment into the hog industry in Canada,” he said.
Seto said it is something not just the federal government, but provincial ones too must be involved in.
Darcy Fitzgerald, Executive Director with Alberta Pork echoed much the same view.
“I think anytime the government supports us on technology or similar work is very important,” he told Prairie Hog Country.
Fitzgerald said while producers play a key role in terms of health with “bio-security on the farm” have the federal government investing to help build capacity to detect disease outbreaks, and how best to be prepared should something – say African Swine Fever – were to be discovered in the country.

“It’s something we need to be prepared for,” he said.
Seto said research dollars into the sector are always appreciated since it can pay long term dividends in terms of what the end result of the research is.
“This investment here is a really positive sign,” he said.
In terms of research, Seto said there are various directions that might go, each which would still be positive.
“There’s a lot of things the industry looks to focus on,” he said.
Elizabeth Dobbin, Principal Investigator and Director of the Diagnostic Services Laboratory at the Atlantic Veterinary College, said the team is developing an assay capable of detecting seven viral targets at once.

She said that testing separately can cost approximately $60 per virus. Under the multiplex approach, the estimated cost is about $9 per target, while providing information on seven viruses in a single test.
That combination could save producers money and deliver results more quickly. Earlier identification gives farmers and veterinarians a better opportunity to respond before illness spreads through a barn or between farms.
The college will receive samples from farms across Atlantic Canada. Its diagnostic virology and research laboratories can run the new multiplex assay and compare the results with those from the individual test laboratories currently in use.
The funding will also support a targeted national proficiency program. Its purpose is to help veterinary laboratories across Canada use consistent testing methods and produce comparable results.
A secure surveillance database will track swine viruses. Better coordination and timely sharing of reliable information could help producers, veterinarians, laboratories, industry organizations and governments recognize emerging disease patterns and respond more effectively.
René Roy, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council, said animal health cannot be managed in isolation. Early detection depends on sound science, prompt information sharing and coordinated action across the pork sector.
Canada’s pork sector supports an estimated 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and generates more than $24 billion annually.
MacDonald said animal disease threatens more than herd health. An outbreak can affect animal welfare, food production, jobs, farm families and access to international markets.
Canada exports pork and live pigs through highly integrated supply chains. MacDonald pointed to approximately two million Manitoba piglets shipped into Iowa each year as one example of why animal-health confidence matters to trade.
Canada is also negotiating disease-zoning arrangements with trading partners. Zoning may allow pork exports from unaffected regions to continue even if a serious disease is detected elsewhere in the country. Canada recently completed an African Swine Fever zoning arrangement with Japan after several years of work.
The new multiplex test is intended primarily for intestinal and respiratory viruses already affecting domestic herds. African Swine Fever requires a different level of testing and is not among the assay’s seven targets, Roy explained.
Dobbin said the systems and expertise created through the project may eventually benefit other animal sectors, including cattle and aquatic species.
For hog producers, however, the immediate goal is straightforward: make disease testing faster, more affordable and more consistent. A single sample capable of identifying multiple threats could provide farmers with useful answers sooner, strengthen national surveillance, and help protect Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality pork. •
— By Harry Siemens &
Calvin Daniels