The objectives of this project are to integrate, further develop, and use a number of existing diagnostic and epidemiologic information management technologies to create a functional, scalable, and universally applicable swine diagnostic information network and disease management tool that links participating 
veterinary diagnostic laboratory (VDL) submissions and corresponding Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) test results and interpreted PEDV health status of the site to a spatiotemporal disease management tool (Disease BioPortal) for use in national, area-regional, veterinary clinic, or production system specific PEDV monitoring and control initiatives. Initially, while the more complex programming work is being completed to adapt the existing software for use in the proposed network and to establish the necessary connectivity amongst its parts; we will use PEDV diagnostic data derived via conventional VDL information management system query algorithms of participating VDL submissions to demonstrate the utility of the tool to monitor and further study the emergence of PEDV in the US swine industry. Participating VDL submissions must i) indicate their willingness to share and release their case (farm site) specific PEDV diagnostic results for use in further epidemiologic study and monitoring of the spread of PEDV throughout the US over the course of the project period and ii) provide the premise identification number, sample type, and type of farm site (Breeding Herd or 
Growing Pig) on the VDL submission form. These data will be used to map site-specific PEDV positive test results and PEDV phylogenetic summaries over the course of the 12-month project. This PEDV diagnostic information will be uploaded into the Secure Animal Health Diagnostic Database (SAHDD) for case-level interpretation, and subsequently downloaded into Disease Bioportal for further bioinformatic analyses and viewing by permissioned users. Collaborative efforts will be made to ensure the animal health information management network being assembled in this project are synergistic and fully capable of delivering information into a program disease management tool (i.e., AgConnect) being developed by The Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD). Permissioned users from Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH) and FAZD will be given full access to the PEDV diagnostic results and Disease BioPortal output from participating VDL submissions for further epidemiologic study. Participating veterinary diagnostic laboratories will be given permissioned access to the Disease Bioportal output to share with their stakeholders contributing to the data. The network and area regional disease management tools being created in this project will be betatested and used to support the complete diagnostic information management and reporting needs of the PEDV area-regional control project underway in Southeast Iowa (i.e., including maintaining the current PEDV status of all premises participating in the project). Once fully developed and beta-tested, the network and disease management tool created will be available for use across any number of regions, states, diagnostic laboratories, veterinary practices, and/or production systems. Although PEDV is focus of this project; the network and technologies being developed are being strategically designed to be broadly applicable, scalable, and readily adaptable for use in managing other domestic diseases of high consequence. Similarly, the core elements of this project are well-aligned to help advance US foreign animal disease preparedness and risk-based continuity of business programs being developed for the US Pork Industry. The Secure Pork Supply Plan is being established to maintain the safe movement of pigs that have been determined to be free of infection during the face of a reportable or program disease outbreak in the US.
