NEWSROOM

BioSec Bob here on Friday, October 23, 2026—let's get straight to it. Highly pathogenic bird flu has hit Wisconsin's Barron County hard this week. WXOW is reporting a commercial poultry flock there has been quarantined after avian influenza was confirmed on the operation. State and federal officials are working the case now, and the affected producer's operation remains under strict movement restrictions as response teams assess the scope of infection and trace any exposure points. Over in the research pipeline, Feedstuffs is covering encouraging work on swine vaccine development. Scientists have identified key immune cells in pigs that show promise for speeding up how researchers design and test new vaccines. The findings could compress timelines on getting protective tools into production faster, particularly important given the landscape of emerging swine diseases producers are tracking. Back to Wisconsin—the bird flu situation's already more complicated. WEAU is confirming a second case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in another commercial poultry flock, also in Barron County. That's two separate flocks now dealing with quarantine and depopulation protocols, signaling the virus is active in that region and spreading across different operations. On the swine disease prevention front, National Hog Farmer reports a global research project is ramping up to tackle African swine fever through better prediction and prevention tools. The initiative combines data science and field expertise to forecast outbreaks before they hit, then test interventions to keep the virus out of herds. That work matters everywhere hog producers operate. Speaking of emerging threats—and this one's getting attention—National Hog Farmer is flagging the first detection of New World screwworm in wildlife in the Americas in decades. The parasite was found outside its traditional range, raising questions about how it got there and whether swine herds need heightened vigilance against the pest. Officials are investigating the source and scope right now. Keep your biosecurity protocols locked down tight this week.