The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast

In Part 1 of this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. John Carr shares a global perspective on African swine fever and explains why the disease must be treated as a decades-long challenge. Drawing on experience across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas, Dr. Carr discusses how wild pigs, incomplete farm barriers, animal movement, international trade, and complacency can increase exposure. He also highlights why strong commercial-farm biosecurity remains the most practical defense while the virus continues to spread outside controlled production systems.

"African swine fever must be treated as a long-term global challenge, because complacency can leave even currently negative regions exposed."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. John Carr is a veterinarian with extensive international experience supporting pig producers across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. His global field perspective includes work with farms confronting African swine fever and with industries working to prevent its introduction. Learn more from Dr. John Carr on The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.

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What you will learn:
(00:00) Highlight
(01:38) Introduction
(02:46) ASF as a 30-year challenge
(04:49) Complacency and farm barriers
(08:06) Wild pig movement
(10:36) Lessons from China
(12:05) Multiple virus variants
(16:27) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Gilt

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.
Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast
LinkedIn: Swine Campus
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In this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Tara Prezioso, Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explains how agent-based temporal network models can track direct and indirect PEDV transmission. She discusses daily movement data, outbreak validation, machine learning, high-risk premises, and biosecurity scenarios that could support stronger disease preparedness. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Daily network data can reveal how direct and indirect movements shape PEDV transmission and help identify which premises face infection next."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. Tara Prezioso is a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A veterinarian with an MPH in Epidemiology and an applied master’s degree in Statistics, she studies veterinary epidemiology, infectious disease modeling, and statistical analysis. Learn more about PEDV network modeling with Dr. Tara Prezioso on The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.

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What you will learn:
(00:00) Highlight
(01:20) Introduction
(03:11) Vehicle movement data
(03:38) Daily network resolution
(05:39) Model validation
(06:55) Disease prediction
(09:56) Biosecurity pathways
(12:39) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Gilt

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.
Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast
LinkedIn: Swine Campus
Instagram: Swine Campus
Facebook: Swine Campus
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In this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Robert Desrosiers, Veterinary Consultant, discusses a PCV2d-associated disease case in a high-health gilt developer. He explains the diagnostic findings, mortality changes, vaccine history, cross-protection limits, PCV2 genotype evolution, and why broader antigen coverage can matter when field strains continue to shift. Listen now on all major platforms!

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"High health pig populations can still experience PCV2 disease when emerging genotypes create challenges against existing protection strategies."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. Robert Desrosiers is a Veterinary Consultant based in Quebec, Canada. He previously served as a Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim Canada for 22 years and has decades of swine veterinary experience across technical service, production medicine, and clinical consulting. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in swine health management and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Montreal. Learn more from Dr. Robert Desrosiers on The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.

Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love!
Dr. Edison Magalhaes: Causal Impact Of PRRS Dosing | Ep. 214
Dr. Jana Morgan: PCV2 Surveillance Insights | Ep. 217
Dr. Mariah Post: Oral Fluids for Detection and Characterization of Salmonella | Ep. 224

What you will learn:
(00:00) Highlight
(01:22) Introduction
(03:24) High-health gilt developer case
(04:32) Clinical signs and lesions
(06:55) PCV2d vaccine response
(08:42) Protection results
(12:33) Future strategies
(15:30) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Gilt

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.
Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast
LinkedIn: Swine Campus
Instagram: Swine Campus
Facebook: Swine Campus
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In this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Maria Eugênia Maçaneiro, a Graduate Research Assistant at Kansas State University, explains how piglet facial grimace scales can support pain assessment. She discusses facial indicators, observer reliability, behavioral validation, scoring methods, and image collection challenges in farm environments. Learn how more objective pain recognition could strengthen pain management and animal welfare decisions. Listen now on all major platforms!

"The facial grimace scale could help veterinarians, researchers, and producers recognize piglet pain faster and make better pain management decisions."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Maria Eugênia Gaya Maçaneiro is a Graduate Research Assistant and PhD student in Animal Behavior and Ethology at Kansas State University. Her work focuses on practical methods for assessing piglet pain through facial images, supporting more objective animal welfare decisions. She holds a master’s degree in Animal Sciences from Kansas State University. Learn more from Maria Eugênia Maçaneiro on The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.

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What you will learn:
(00:00) Highlight
(01:22) Introduction
(02:17) Grimace scale basics
(04:42) Observer reliability
(06:01) Behavioral validation
(07:22) Pain scoring range
(08:24) Welfare applications
(11:32) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Gilt

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.
Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast
LinkedIn: Swine Campus
Instagram: Swine Campus
Facebook: Swine Campus
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In this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Jeroen Dewulf, Full Professor at Ghent University, explains why livestock transport biosecurity depends on more than a truck that looks clean. He discusses persistent fecal contamination after cleaning and disinfection, overlooked risks inside truck cabins, driver training, and a new tool that helps teams measure practices, benchmark performance, and identify areas for improvement. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to learn more!

"A visually clean livestock truck can still carry substantial bacterial contamination after cleaning and disinfection."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. Jeroen Dewulf is a Full Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at Ghent University and leads its Veterinary Epidemiology Unit. His research focuses on preventing epidemic and endemic animal diseases, with particular emphasis on biosecurity. He also serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Biocheck.UGent and contributes to international animal health initiatives focused on practical disease prevention. Learn more from Dr. Jeroen Dewulf on The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.

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What you will learn:
(00:00) Highlight
(01:20) Introduction
(02:20) Transport risks
(04:27) Cleaning failures
(06:58) Cabin contamination
(07:41) Driver training
(09:17) Biosecurity scoring
(13:33) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Gilt

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.
Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast
LinkedIn: Swine Campus
Instagram: Swine Campus
Facebook: Swine Campus
TikTok: Swine Campus