1. AAEP Publishes Revised Salmonellosis Disease Guidelines
The updated Salmonellosis Disease Guidelines reflect the latest research with emphasis on items relevant to clinical practitioners.
Edited Press Release
October 1, 2026
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has published on its website revised Salmonellosis Disease Guidelines to assist practitioners with clinical signs, risk factors, diagnostic sampling, biosecurity measures and other considerations of the clinical disease that results from infection with Salmonella enterica ssp. enterica.
Clinically normal horses can transiently shed Salmonella. Shedding prevalence varies from less than one percent in the general horse population to upwards of 13% among horses with gastrointestinal disease. Risk factors for development of salmonellosis in horses include poor environmental hygiene, immunosuppression, stress, commingling of horses, or antimicrobial administration.
Clinical disease in horses is characterized by nonspecific signs, including fever, diarrhea, leukopenia, and colic. Infections may result in endotoxemia and laminitis. Foals are susceptible to more severe disease with profound systemic illness, including hemorrhagic diarrhea, pneumonia, meningitis, physitis, and septic arthritis.
"The updated Salmonellosis Disease Guidelines reflect the latest research with emphasis on items relevant to clinical practitioners: risk factors, diagnostic testing, biosecurity, and management of quarantined animals," said guidelines author Brandy Burgess, DVM, MSc, PhD, DACVIM, DACVPM.?"They provide relevant information for equine practitioners managing cases in the field and communicating with horse owners."
Full text: https://equimanagement.com/news/aaep-publishes-revised-salmonellosis-disease-guidelines/
2. Legislation introduced to address U.S. veterinarian shortage
The VET CARE Act authorizes the USDA to provide federal grants to schools, 4-H or FFA organizations, veterinary clinics and hospitals.
Industry Release
National Hog Farmer
October 1, 2026
Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11), Vice Ranking Member on the House Committee on Agriculture has introduced legislation to create a competitive federal grant program supporting work-based learning programs exposing high school-aged students to veterinarian medicine.
The VET CARE Act (Veterinary Expansion and Training for Comprehensive Animal Resources and Education Act) authorizes the USDA to provide federal grants to schools, 4-H or FFA organizations, veterinary clinics and hospitals, or veterinary and animal health offices to create, develop, or expand work-based learning programs focused on veterinary medicine.
In 2025, the USDA identified veterinarian shortages in 46 states. According to a 2025 report by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Farm Journal Foundation, Ohio faces a veterinarian shortage of 600 to 1,000 veterinarians by the next decade. That report surveyed Ohio stakeholders who rated the severity of the crisis at a "7.9 out of 10."
3. How nest cover and light affect egg laying in cage-free systems
Study examines role of uniform house lighting and nest design in influencing bird production and mortality.
Michigan State University
By Valentina Bongiorno, Katie Baugh and Janice Siegford, Department of Animal Science
Feedstuffs
October 1, 2026
If operating a cage-free system, where laying hens are kept indoors but can move freely within the barn, were a chess game, good management strategies and smart resource allocation would be the winning moves toward checkmate in addressing emerging welfare and production challenges. Among these management strategies, optimizing house lighting and nest design play a crucial role in influencing bird behavior and resource use.
For example, gradually dimming lights in the evening encourages hens to move back into the system before dark. In the case of nests, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) and the producers they talked to found that hens do not use certain nests or will crowd the corners of others. This could be due to how much light enters a particular nest or area of the nest. Therefore, changes in lighting and nest appearance can directly and indirectly reflect production (e.g., percentage of floor eggs, mortality) and be key to maintaining a healthy flock.
Researchers conducted an experiment at the MSU Poultry Teaching and Research Center Laying Hen Facility to evaluate how more uniform lighting and different levels of nest enclosure affected bird production and fitness. The experiment included 2,624 birds housed in a multitiered cage-free system that allowed hens to move horizontally and vertically between levels, or tiers. The system was open on both sides and across all tiers, with litter areas for foraging, scratching and dustbathing on both sides. Water was available on the bottom and middle tiers, feed on the bottom and top tiers and nests on the middle tier.
Full text: https://www.feedstuffs.com/poultry/how-nest-cover-and-light-affect-egg-laying-in-cage-free-systems
4. AHC, AAEP Support Temporary International Movement of Equines Act
Legislation marks major milestone in industry effort to modernize international movement of competition horses while protecting equine health.
Edited press release
EquiManagement.com
October 2, 2026
The American Horse Council (AHC) applauds the introduction of H.R. 10611, the Temporary International Movement of Equines (TIME) Act of 2026, bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Kat Cammack (R-FL) to modernize federal requirements governing the temporary international movement of elite competition and racehorses.
The legislation represents a significant milestone in a years-long effort led by AHC and its industry partners to establish a more modern approach to the temporary entry of high-health, high-performance horses into the United States. The TIME Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a science-based, risk-based regulatory framework that reflects internationally recognized standards while maintaining strong protections for equine health and biosecurity.
"We applaud Representatives Tonko and Cammack for their bipartisan leadership in advancing the TIME Act. Their willingness to listen to the equine community and champion this issue marks an important step toward ensuring the United States remains a leading destination for international equine competition for years to come," said Julie Broadway, President of the American Horse Council.
"Aligning with international safety standards benefits fans, athletes, economies, and the sport as a whole, which is what drove me to introduce the TIME Act," Congressman Tonko said. "This bill prioritizes equine health and safety while pushing venues like my district's own Saratoga Racetrack and its athletes further onto the international stage. I thank Congresswoman Cammack for joining me to champion this bill, and urge my colleagues to join us in this effort."
Full text: https://equimanagement.com/news/ahc-aaep-support-temporary-international-movement-of-equines-act/
5. New Tool for Monitoring Endemic Swine Pathogens: A Data-Driven Etiology Index
This new initiative aims to provide a transparent, automated and reproducible method to help veterinarians, producers and stakeholders prioritize disease threats based on real-world diagnostic data.
By Swine Health Information Center
Pork Business
October 2, 2026
A Swine Health Information Center-funded project at Iowa State University developed a data-driven etiology index to help characterize the relative activity of endemic swine pathogens in the US. The work, led by Drs. Giovani Trevisan and Daniel Linhares, uses confirmed tissue-based diagnoses from the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to rank disease activity and identify emerging changes over time.
This initiative aimed to provide a transparent, automated and reproducible method to help veterinarians, producers and stakeholders prioritize disease threats based on real-world diagnostic data. The research analyzed 59,950 porcine tissue cases submitted to the ISU-VDL between 2020 and 2024, including evaluation of 81 bacterial, viral, parasitic and metabolic/intoxication etiologies.
Rather than relying solely on the number of diagnoses, the resulting index combines four measures: disease occurrence, co-diagnosis with other etiologies, geographic distribution across states and Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS) alarms. The variables are weighted according to their contribution to the overall index, with disease occurrence receiving the greatest weight (0.50), followed by EARS alarms (0.26), state occurrence (0.15), and co-diagnosis (0.09).
6. Bird flu found in two Stearns County turkey operations [MN]
By JP Cola
WillmarRadio.com
October 2, 2026
(St. Cloud MN) - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has reported Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in two turkey operations in Stearns County. On September 23rd bird flu was found in a commercial turkey meat bird flock of 31,159, and on September 28th it was found in a flock of 77,151, both in Stearns County.
Dr. Shauna Voss at The Minnesota Poultry Testing Lab in Willmar has said producers need to continue strictly abiding by biosecurity, keeping wild birds and visitors away from their operations.
While there is a vaccine for bird flu, it is not approved for use by the USDA at this time because trading partners with the U.S. do not want to buy vaccinated birds.