Hear the Latest on PRRS Prevention and Control at Expo

May 12, 2010 — 

Herd health management is critical to the sustainability of any pork production operation. Bacterial and viral infections can have long-lasting repercussions to the herd and the producers' bottom lines.

Leading the list is porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), a viral disease that affects swine reproductive and respiratory systems. To help provide answers, the "Managing to Eliminate PRRS on the Farm" seminar, sponsored by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, will take place from 9:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 10. The discussion will be held in the Marketing Information Center, sponsored by Pork magazine, National Pork Board and National Pork Producers Council, located on the upper level of the Varied Industries Building.

Paul Ruen, DVM at the Fairmont Veterinary Clinic in Fairmont, Minnesota and AASV president, and a panel of swine veterinarians and pork producers will present the seminar. Panelists include: Scott Dee, DVM, professor of Veterinary Population Medicine at University of Minnesota; David Nolan, DVM, Cargill Pork; Rodney "Butch" Baker, DVM, professor of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University; and Jon Caspers, co-owner and general manager of Pleasant Valley Pork Corp. These experts will discuss how the virus spreads, ideas to prevent PRRS from infecting your farm, creating and implementing a biosecurity plan, the effect of PRRS on herds and production potential, controlling and eliminating the virus from herds, and producers' grassroots projects to eliminate PRRS from their areas.

The PRRS virus is transmitted from pig-to-pig through bodily fluids and waste, contaminated transportation equipment and facilities, animal care workers' hands and clothing, fomites, and insects like flies and mosquitoes. PRRS has also been proven to travel airborne and can reach neighboring farms at least two miles away.

This contagious virus spreads quickly through an operation once the first pig is infected. It is financially burdensome, especially to breeding-to-farrowing and wean-to-finish herds. "A PRRS outbreak can cause high abortion and fatality rates," says Reun. "Many live litters have poor survival rates and weakened immune systems which can cause significant set backs in breeding and production outputs."

Most healthy, growing-stage and adult hogs will recover from the virus. "But the virus mutates frequently so herds that have already been infected are not immune to other PRRS virus strains or secondary diseases," Ruen explains.

While prevention and treatment options are limited, swine veterinarians have learned much about controlling and eliminating the disease's spread since it first appeared in the late 1980's. This is good news for producers as they try to eliminate the virus. "It's difficult to purge the disease in regions where pig density is high, but it's not impossible," says Ruen. "We have made great strides through research and experimentation, and that knowledge is being put into action."

Preventing the virus spread is the best way to protect your herd from PRRS. "It is imperative that pork producers have a sound biosecurity plan to keep diseases off their farms," says Ruen. "A well-constructed biosecurity plan requires that all animal care workers implement good hygiene on the farm to include proper cleaning, disinfecting and drying of trailers, facilities, and production equipment."

The 2010 World Pork Expo will be held June 9 - 11 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Producers can pre-register for World Pork Expo 2010 at its website. Admission is $5 in advance or $15 at the gate. Attendees are encouraged to sign-up for the Remind Me text message service to receive notification about the seminars and events going on during Expo. To learn more, visit the World Pork Expo Online Resource Center.

Source: NPPC