Streamlined systems that link diagnostic submissions and corresponding test results to spatiotemporal disease management tools are needed to enhance US pork producers’ ability to proficiently monitor, manage, control, and/or eliminate endemic diseases of significance across systems and regions, as well as to improve the industry’s overall preparedness for emerging and/or transboundary diseases of high consequence. Significant connectivity gaps exist between veterinary diagnostic laboratories’ laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and highly capable spatiotemporal disease management tools. Extensive efforts are presently required to ascertain the data needed from the various diagnostic laboratories, veterinary clinics, and production systems to harness the capabilities of these sophisticated regional disease management tools. These gaps in connectivity and limited routine access to user-friendly, highly functional area regional disease management tools that can be used for non-program/private sector disease management applications are hampering US animal agriculture’s foreign animal disease preparedness and the US pork industry’s ability to capitalize on markedly improved regional disease management technologies. Existing regional health management tools that rely on manually gathering, assembling, and reentering diagnostic information are glaringly inadequate to support the health management needs of the US animal agriculture and the 21st century pork industry.
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