1. Purdue, Elanco break ground on One Health Research Institute
Purpose-built research, incubator and laboratory space will leverage Purdue's R1 capabilities and Elanco's animal health leadership.
Industry Release
National Hog Farmer
October 7, 2026
The One Health Innovation District has unveiled plans for the One Health Research Institute, a new hub for research, collaboration and innovation within the district. Anchored by Purdue University and Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, the Research Institute will accelerate One Health discovery, diagnostics, translational science and commercialization through advanced research, incubator and laboratory space.
The planned 150,000-square foot, shared-use facility will include advanced research laboratories, shared research infrastructure and equipment and collaboration space and facilities supporting animal health and veterinary partners.?Purdue will serve as the Research Institute's academic and research anchor - connecting faculty, students, researchers and university capabilities with industry and entrepreneurial partners. Elanco will serve as the industry and innovation anchor - bringing animal health expertise, scientific talent and a direct connection to the development and commercialization of new One Health solutions.?
Aligned with Purdue's strengths in One Health, translational science and data-driven innovation, the One Health Research Institute will create a collaborative environment focused on the interconnected health of people, animals, plants and the environment. The building is designed to bring researchers, clinicians, industry partners and entrepreneurs together to help accelerate the translation of discoveries into new therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health solutions, sustainable agricultural technologies and commercial products.
2. EHD on the rise
Cattle ranchers and dairy farmers are finding that this disease is not just for deer anymore.
By Clint Beck
Beef Magazine
October 7, 2026
A rancher in northwestern Montana lost several cows late this summer to a disease that for decades has been responsible for widespread losses in white-tailed deer populations. With attention to Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) aimed mostly at wildlife, dairy farmers and cattle ranchers have mostly been spared the impact of this insidious disease.
But in September, Paul Guenzler, Ronan, Mont., lost six cows to confirmed cases of EHD. He worked with his veterinarian in doctoring nearly two dozen other cows on his ranch for symptoms of the disease. Guenzler said he knows of another 20 or so cows in neighboring herds around the Mission Valley that have died of EHD.
A rancher in northwestern Montana lost several cows late this summer to a disease that for decades has been responsible for widespread losses in white-tailed deer populations. With attention to Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) aimed mostly at wildlife, dairy farmers and cattle ranchers have mostly been spared the impact of this insidious disease.
But in September, Paul Guenzler, Ronan, Mont., lost six cows to confirmed cases of EHD. He worked with his veterinarian in doctoring nearly two dozen other cows on his ranch for symptoms of the disease. Guenzler said he knows of another 20 or so cows in neighboring herds around the Mission Valley that have died of EHD.
Full text: https://www.beefmagazine.com/livestock-management/ehd-on-the-rise
3. From Body Condition Score to Body Condition Story
Automated body condition scoring is giving dairy veterinarians more than a number. By tracking changes over time, continuous BCS data can provide a new way to evaluate individual cows and herd-level patterns.
By Andrea Bedford
Bovine Veterinarian
October 6, 2026
Body condition scores (BCS) have long been a useful tool for evaluating a cow's status and supporting decisions around nutrition, reproduction and health. Yet their usefulness depends on having reliable information at the right time. Manual scoring makes that difficult because it takes time, requires trained observers and introduces subjectivity.
For Dr. Joaquin Azocar, veterinarian and commercial portfolio manager for digital solutions at DeLaval, the challenge is not recognizing the value of body condition. It is obtaining the measurement frequently enough to make it actionable.
"The thing is that body condition assessment is very well known as very important information and data to have to know the status of our cows," Azocar says. "You have many implications and many decisions that you can make about feeding, reproduction, health, many things."
Automated systems change the frequency at which that information can be collected, generating a daily record for individual cows rather than relying on occasional manual assessments. That creates an opportunity to think about BCS differently, moving beyond the individual score toward the pattern that develops over time.
Full text: https://www.bovinevetonline.com/news/veterinary-education/body-condition-score-body-condition-story
4. Quarterly Review Update: APHIS Issues Revised New World Screwworm Response Playbook and Supplemental Materials
APHIS Stakeholder Registry
October 6, 2026
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has released revised versions of the New World Screwworm (NWS) Response Playbook and associated supplemental documents. These updates reflect the feedback and priorities discussed during the first Quarterly NWS Playbook Review meeting held on September 9, 2026.
Stakeholder input is essential to ensure that the Playbook and supplemental materials remain clear, practical, and responsive to operational needs across States, industry, and Federal partners.
Key Updates This Quarter:
New World Screwworm Response Playbook
[See: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/nws-response-playbook.pdf ]
Clarifies when zone sizing may be adjusted, such as due to habitat or host factors (Section 2).
New World Screwworm National Continuity of Business Standardized Animal Movement Guidance
[See: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/nws-national-cob-movement-requirements.pdf ]
Allows States to authorize movement requirement activities to be performed on other premises types, including temporary aggregation points, such as when activities cannot be completed at the origin premises.
Clarifies that animals moving to slaughter from the Infested Zone may have the 72-hour clock reset following reinspection by an authorized inspector.
Ready Reference Guide - Establishing and Releasing NWS Zones and Areas
[See: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/nws-overview-zones-areas.pdf ]
Clarifies when zone sizing may be adjusted.
Adds a new section outlining criteria for releasing Infested Zones.
Stakeholders can view all NWS preparedness and response guidance on screwworm.gov and NWS Emergency Response.
APHIS will host the next quarterly review during the first week of December.
Please email comments or questions to FAD.PReP.Comments@usda.gov.
5. Avian influenza spread beyond a backyard coop on an Illinois farm, analysis finds
By Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
Univ. of Ilinois Urbana-Champagne
October 6, 2026
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that nearly wiped out an Illinois farmer's backyard flock also spread to a domestic cat and wild rats on the farm, an analysis of the animals by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory found.
"Bird flu does not stop at birds. On this farm, a cat and a rat were infected too, most likely after contact with dead or dying infected birds, and any wild animal that scavenges or handles carcasses could be exposed the same way," said Dr. Leyi Wang, the virology section head at the U. of I. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and corresponding author of the report.
After quickly losing 100 out of 105 of his backyard birds in March 2025, the farmer brought the remains of five birds and a rat to the University of Missouri. Located a mere two miles from a reservoir lake, the farm was ideally situated for avian influenza to travel from wild waterfowl to the flock. The Missouri lab collected a sample from one of the farm chickens, which unsurprisingly tested positive for avian influenza. Four days later, the farm's primary veterinarian collected the remains of a cat and another rat and sent them to the U. of I. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, as there had been a few reports of infections in cats at the time.
Wang and his team examined the mammals and tested and sequenced the viruses collected. Both animals tested positive for the same subtype of H5N1 avian influenza as the chicken had. Wang's team then tested tissue samples from assorted organs to see how extensive the infections were in the mammals; all 12 cat tissues were infected, as were 11 out of 15 rat tissues, and viral RNA was present in the rat's urine as well.
6. Brucellosis, Bison, and Elk: What Montana Hunters Should Know About the Science Behind Yellowstone's Biggest Wildlife Fight
MontanaOutdoor.com
October 7, 2026
If you've spent any time paying attention to wildlife politics in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, you already know that bison have been the scapegoat of the northern Rockies for decades. The argument has gone something like this: bison carry brucellosis, brucellosis causes cattle to abort their calves, therefore bison need to be kept away from livestock - hazed back into the park, culled at the boundary near Gardiner, or shipped to slaughter when herd numbers climb past what the Interagency Bison Management Plan will tolerate. It's a policy that's cost Montana taxpayers real money, fueled bitter fights between ranchers and conservationists, and kept Yellowstone's bison population under near-constant management pressure.
But a new video from the Cryptic Range channel raises a question that a growing number of wildlife researchers have been asking for years: if bison are really the primary transmission risk, why do documented livestock outbreaks keep tracing back to elk?
It's worth being clear about what the science actually says before going further. Brucellosis - caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus - is well-documented in both bison and elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The USDA APHIS has confirmed seropositive animals in both species for years, and peer-reviewed research published in journals including the Journal of Wildlife Diseases has identified elk as a demonstrated transmission vector to livestock. A 2020 study out of Wyoming found that the majority of documented cattle exposures in recent decades were geographically and temporally consistent with elk contact rather than bison.