STOMP PLUS, a diagnostic consultative service from Zoetis, now provides even more value to pork producers and veterinarians as a supporting resource to the new Mhp (Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae) Guardian management program. STOMP PLUS now offers more robust diagnostic sampling plans and diagnostic analysis, interpretation and summary of results. The firm says these services are critical to pork producers understanding Mhp disease dynamics and provide a scientific basis for decisions around interventions, vaccines and medications.

"With STOMP PLUS, we start with a specific question that needs to be answered, as diagnostics shouldn't be a fishing expedition. This more focused approach informs the development of a targeted diagnostic sampling plan. It's a comprehensive program that helps guide our efforts to define the challenge better and gather diagnostic data to determine our path forward," said Eva Jablonski, senior technical services veterinarian with Zoetis Pork. "We want to drill down not just to the disease itself, but also to the extent and magnitude of the disease, as well as identify likely co-infections or other contributing factors."

As a consultative service, STOMP PLUS includes these three diagnostic-related components:

Working collaboratively, the veterinarian and producer use STOMP PLUS which is managed by the Zoetis Pork Technical Services team and includes five key deliverables starting with developing a diagnostic sampling plan, setting up payment and test coordination with the diagnostic lab, offering on-farm sampling support, analyzing and interpreting the diagnostic results, and presenting a summary of the findings.

"Once we've presented the diagnostic analysis and interpretation of the results, the Zoetis team can work with producers and their veterinarians to help develop the most effective control or elimination strategies," said Jablonski. "For example, as a critical component of our new Mhp Guardian program, STOMP PLUS supports three of the four steps to understand Mhp dynamics on a specific farm better. For instance, in step 1, establishing herd disease status, STOMP PLUS helps identify the magnitude and prevalence of Mhp by production phase; it also plays a critical role in step 3, intervention implementation, when it comes to more precisely determining medication timing in a control program; and step 4, monitoring interventions, by ensuring continued stability or a negative status over time."

These strategies and plans contain general guidelines only. At all times, producers should consult with their veterinarians.