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Iowa leads the United States in pork production, housing approximately one-third of the country's swine population. This puts Iowa at great economic risk if an outbreak of African swine fever, a disease that limits international trade opportunities, were to occur anywhere in the United States. To hone emergency response plans to combat an outbreak, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in September 2019 participated in a 4-day exercise with representatives from the other 13 top pork-producing states. This exercise involved a mock foreign animal disease response and helped to concisely summarize what pork producers could expect should a foreign animal disease be detected in Iowa.

Objective: To provide an overview of the etiology, assessment, diagnosis, and management of infections and occlusions that occur with venous access devices (VADs)., Conclusions: The two major complications of VADs are infections and occlusions. Several strategies have been attempted to prevent and treat infections and occlusions; however, one specific method has yet to be determined. As a result, major controversies exist regarding the best method to manage these complications. Controlled randomized studies are needed to examine each type of VAD in relation to preventive and treatment strategies., Implications for Nursing Practice: Preservation of VADs demands the development of and adherence to specific guidelines for maintenance care as well as an awareness of the incidence, presentation, and management of complications. Clearly, prevention is the key to effective management of infection and occlusion associated with VADs. Nurses must be familiar with institutional policies and procedures for the care of VADs.