Pig Health and Production
North Carolina is the number two swine state in the U.S. The SHPM Faculty are actively engaged with that industry and are committed to training veterinarians to serve as swine specialists to industry and private clients. The Faculty are actively engaged in the international swine industry, including a training program for international veterinarians who desire to learn more about large scale swine production in order to improve the health of swine and the profitability of the swine industry in their countries.
Teaching for veterinary students is accomplished at the Teaching Animal Unit (TAU), in Swine Selectives for students in the first three classes of the professional curriculum, senior rotations for students, and in lecture primarily during year 3 of the DVM curriculum.
The research activities for two of the SHPM group center on the Porcine Respiratory and Reproduction Syndrome virus (PRRSv). Novel ways have been developed to practically manage a herd in the presence of the virus and to eventually reduce its presence or to at least better manage the production losses associated with it. Molecular epidemiological techniques have been developed to track the virus's spread within a herd and to design ways to contain and eliminate it.
Other faculty are working to characterize the resistance of pathogens in swine herds which may have changed because of exposure to various antimicrobials during the production cycle. Fundamental reproductive physiology and immunology are the focus of another swine researcher.
SHPM Faculty are very close to the practicing swine veterinarians and management of the industry in North Carolina. They collaborate with the DVM's and their clients to provide better teaching opportunities for our students and graduate students. The faculty consult on production methods and interventions to control transmission of disease within and between herds.