Chile eradicates porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome

April 23, 2024 — 

After a decade of concentrated efforts on a control and eradication plan, the Agricultural and Livestock Service announced that Chile has declared itself a country free of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, now noting its position as the nation with the best sanitary condition for the pork industry in Latin America.

PRRS is a viral disease that exclusively affects pigs, it is not transmitted to humans, which means that it is not a zoonosis, but nevertheless, it has a significant impact on production, causing important economic losses and even affecting exports. In the United States alone, PRRS infections generate annual costs of approximately $664 million for producers, while in Europe losses are estimated at around $1.5 billion euros each year.

To manage and communicate its health status, each country must identify and declare the absence or presence of cases of different animal diseases through its official veterinary services to the World Organization for Animal Health. In Chile, this responsibility falls on the Agricultural and Livestock Service, which through resolution No. 2113/2024 officially declared Chile free of PRRS, marking an important milestone for the country in the field of animal health.

Read the full story at National Hog Farmer.

[Source: National Hog Farmer 17 April 2024]