1. Texas Issues Massive 21-County Emergency Quarantine as Screwworm Outbreak Reaches Deep South Border [edited]
KSSTRadio.com
June 29, 2026
June 29, 2026 - LA PRYOR, TX - Federal and state agricultural authorities have aggressively expanded emergency measures to combat the first domestic outbreak of the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) in decades. What began on June 3 as a single isolated detection in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County has officially escalated into a multi-county emergency.
In response to the rapid northern and southern migration of the pest, state officials signed sweeping emergency orders establishing severe animal movement restrictions across 21 Texas counties.
2. WOAH publishes new guidelines for African swine fever vaccines
Comprehensive ASF prevention and control strategies, alongside biosecurity, surveillance and movement controls are also critical.
By Industry Release
National Hog Farmer
June 26, 2026
As African swine fever continues to affect pig production, animal health systems and safe trade worldwide, the World Organisation for Animal Health has published new guidelines to support evidence-based vaccine use. The Guidelines for African swine fever vaccines: field evaluation and post-vaccination monitoring provide practical guidance to help members implement international standards and mitigate risks associated with substandard vaccines.
Developed with experts from The Pirbright Institute and the Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice at City University of Hong Kong, the guidelines are now available and provide a practical, field-oriented reference for veterinary services, competent authorities and other stakeholders involved in vaccine deployment.
Supporting evidence-based decisions in the field
ASF vaccination is rapidly evolving. While vaccine candidates are under development and some live attenuated virus vaccines have received regulatory approval in certain countries, WOAH emphasizes that only high-quality vaccines manufactured according to international standards should be used. Vaccination decisions must be grounded in reliable evidence and adapted to local epidemiological conditions. The guidelines support members in generating and assessing this evidence, covering the design, implementation and evaluation of field studies, as well as the benefit-risk assessment that should precede any national or regional vaccination program. Practical tools, including sample size calculators and recording form templates, are included to help users apply the guidance directly on the ground.
Full text: https://tinyurl.com/852c34pr
3. New research investments support swine disease elimination
Several projects will study the prevalence and geographic distribution of PEDV in grow-finish populations across key pork-producing states.
National Pork Board
National Hog Farmer
June 29, 2026
Disease elimination doesn't happen with a single breakthrough. It happens when the industry asks and answers the hard questions that still stand in the way.
New research projects recently selected by the Swine Disease Research task force will address those hard questions. Each project aligns with the National Swine Health Strategy priority of eliminating endemic diseases, addresses key knowledge gaps and aims to deliver information to help producers make better herd health decisions.
The latest research investments concentrate on two diseases that continue to challenge U.S. pork production: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus.
Collectively, these projects will help improve understanding about where these diseases persist, how they spread and which strategies may help move the industry closer to elimination.
4. One Disease, Two Playbooks: How Canada and Michigan Are Tackling Bovine Tuberculosis
Bovine tuberculosis control changes dramatically depending on where the disease survives. Canada's recent investigations have focused on tracing rare infections through cattle movements, while Michigan's long-running battle centers on managing the disease in white-tailed deer.
By Andrea Bedford
Bovine Veterinarian
June 26, 2026
One infected animal.
That's all it took to launch one of Canada's largest bovine tuberculosis investigations in years.
The first question many producers ask when bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is detected is whether wildlife brought the disease onto the farm. Yet in Canada's recent investigations, regulators have been unable to link the cases to wildlife.
Hundreds of miles away, Michigan veterinarians face the opposite reality. There, controlling bovine tuberculosis begins with managing infected white-tailed deer.
The difference isn't the pathogen. It's where the pathogen survives. That single distinction changes nearly every aspect of a bTB control program, from where surveillance occurs to the questions investigators ask after a positive test.
Recent presentations by Dr. Noel Ritson, veterinary program manager with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Dr. Nora Wineland, Michigan state veterinarian, offered a unique look at how neighboring regions are tackling the same disease under very different circumstances.
5. One Health, One Threat: Preparing for Japanese Encephalitis Virus
CFSPH
June 29, 2026
The Center for Food Security & Public Health (CFSPH) at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine is hosting a three-part webinar series this summer to raise awareness for emerging and transboundary mosquito-borne diseases. Thanks to funding from USDA NADPRP, "One Health, One Threat: Preparing for Japanese Encephalitis Virus" brings together animal health, public health, vector control, apiculture, and emergency response professionals. These webinars will explore detection, prevention, and coordination using One Health response strategies to help individuals and agencies prepare for this virus should it be introduced to the United States. Attendees will be encouraged to interact with presenters by asking questions.
Join us for these important conversations, which will be held:
July 16 at 11am CT
August 20 at 2pm CT
September 9 at 11am CT
Each live interactive webinar has been approved to provide one-hour (Scientific) of continuing education (CE) credit by the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine and Oklahoma State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Veterinary personnel in California, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, and other states may be able to obtain CE credit using the Course Completion Certificate emailed to registered attendees after each live webinar. Register now to strengthen preparedness across your network: Japanese encephalitis preparedness.
See: https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/emergency-response/japanese-encephalitis-preparedness/
6. How Penn State Beaver is helping farmers respond sooner to animal health challenges
Penn State Bever
June 29, 2026
After a cold winter in western Pennsylvania, Old English Acres Farm owner Ed Clark noticed something was off with his herd of cattle.
Several cows weren't gaining weight normally, but the cause wasn't immediately clear. Clark first tried treating the issue himself, giving the animals mineral supplements while sending blood samples to Michigan for testing. Two weeks later, the results pointed to a trace-mineral deficiency.
The diagnosis kicked off a months-long process of adjusting mineral packs, testing feed and water quality and waiting through multiple rounds of results before fully understanding what was affecting the herd. By the end, nearly five months had passed between the first samples and the final management changes.
For farmers like Clark, the Keystone Animal Diagnostic Center (KADC) at Penn State Beaver was built to make earlier action possible. It's the first new Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System facility built in decades, giving farmers, veterinarians and animal producers across western Pennsylvania closer access to testing and diagnostics.