In a recent press release announcing the funding, SHIC said it's working to protect and enhance the health of US swine herds through coordinated global disease monitoring. The aim of the targeted research projects is to minimise the impact of future disease threats and provide valuable analysis of swine health data.

“SHIC provides value to the entire pork industry through targeted disease research programs,” said Gene Noem, National Pork Board president and SHIC board member. “Specifically, SHIC is able to conduct and source research for emerging health issues from a network of academia, veterinary service and diagnostic labs and researchers across the globe.”

SHIC is responsible for developing several essential programs that keep the US swine heard safe from emerging global diseases. For instance, the organisation is responsible for the development and dissemination of near real-time domestic and global swine disease reports. It also provides diagnostic fee assistance to help identify newly introduced or emerging diseases.

“In the very short time we’ve been in existence, we have come to play such a vital role in helping defend the health of our industry. Since receiving initial funding from the National Pork Board, we have filled a void and been very successful," said Daryl Olsen, DVM, AMVC, Audubon, Iowa, SHIC board chair. "We’re committed to protecting the US pig population."

SHIC has also been involved in foreign animal disease (FAD) work, including a Biosecurity Risk Assessment. Released in September 2021 and conducted by EpiX Analytics, LLC, this report looked at eight potential pathways, and found that no major areas have been overlooked to prevent the introduction of African swine fever (ASF) to the US. Other vulnerabilities, such as feed ingredients being imported from ASF-positive countries and illegal or out-of-regulatory-compliance garbage feeding, were also identified by the study as areas for the pork industry to continue working to address.

For feed risk to be approached with sound science, SHIC has pursued a breadth of research and information. These projects include viral survivability in feed ingredient research, half-life estimates for ASF and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) leading to holding time information, supporting laboratory extraction research for PCRs, documenting sources and quantities of imported feed ingredients and continuing to gather information that can help fill gaps in risk assessments.

SHIC was launched with Checkoff funds in 2015.