Don’t Let PRRS Hold Your Swine Operation Hostage Anymore

The research team discovered disease pressure is significantly associated with the level of biosecurity on the farm. Scott Dee says the results of the two-year study was an important finding. 
The research team discovered disease pressure is significantly associated with the level of biosecurity on the farm. Scott Dee says the results of the two-year study was an important finding. 
(National Pork Board and the Pork Checkoff)

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has been holding the pork industry hostage for far too long. Both producers and veterinarians are frustrated and feel like PRRS is almost impossible to manage, explains Scott Dee, DVM and emeritus director of discovery and innovation at Pipestone Applied Research at Pipestone. A new retrospective cohort study by Dee and a team of researchers from Pipestone and the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine* provides confidence that improvements in swine herd biosecurity can reduce the incidence risk of PRRS.

“The reason I left the University of Minnesota to go to Pipestone was to test the biosecurity protocols I developed while I was a professor,” Dee explains. “This was an effort to take everything we put together over the years and organize into a strategic plan we call next-generation biosecurity. Then, we put it across the entire system and measured to see if it works.”

The study evaluated data from 381,404 sows across 76 breeding herds, looking at all the ways PRRS is spread, Dee adds. From direct routes (pigs and semen) and indirect routes (mechanical, fomite-based) to aerosol and feed biosecurity, next-generation biosecurity layers prevention protocols together and applies it under the watchful eyes of trained inspectors and auditors.

JAVMA Chart
Source: Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association

“Biosecurity is a people business. If people don’t follow the rules, it doesn’t work,” Dee says. “You have to train the staff of each farm on the importance of biosecurity – what are protocols and how do you follow it correctly? You also have to change the culture of the farm to a mindset of 'We don’t want PRRS anymore so you have to change the culture. You can’t run outside of the barn, bang the feed bin and walk back in anymore.’”

Repeatable Results
From 2009 to 2020, the annual incidence risk of PRRS in sow farms managed by the same company averaged 33%, ranging from 20% to 50%. To measure the effect of next-generation biosecurity on PRRS incidence risk, a study was conducted from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023, across breeding herds managed by the same company. During the analysis, two groups of herds emerged: those that implemented protocols for all phases of next-generation biosecurity (NGB complete), and those that implemented all described protocols of biosecurity except for air filtration (NGB incomplete).

During the two-year assessment period, 56 breeding herds were classified as NGB complete, while 20 herds were NGB incomplete. The PRRS incidence risk in NGB complete herds was 8.9% as compared to 40.0% in NGB incomplete herds. From disease year one (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022) and disease year two (July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023), system-wide PRRS incidence risk was 8.6% and 9.2%, respectively. The association between NGB status and PRRS incidence risk for the 2-year period was statistically significant at a P value of .006.

“This was a retrospective study – looking back at the data, putting the biosecurity protocols in place and letting the days go by, recording outbreaks as they happened,” Dee explains. “At the end of the first year, we thought the results were amazing. So, we said, ‘Let’s do it again to see if it’s repeatable.’ After two years of repeating the results, I decided we needed to write it up.”

Dee discovered disease pressure is significantly associated with the level of biosecurity on the farm. He says the results of the two years was an important finding. 

“For two years in a row, we kept PRRS outbreak below 10% on average – even with some of the incomplete farms. In 36 years of working with PRRS, I’ve never seen it controlled at that level over that many sites before,” he says.

Controlling PRRS Virus
Dee says this study proves the industry can keep PRRS at bay. 

“We can control this virus rather than having this virus control us all the time. You have to follow rules, invest, train and do all the work it takes to get the farms in shape to the next level, but it works,” Dee says. “As a scientist who has been working on this for so long, to actually see that the biosecurity protcols work in a real-world setting, was a great feeling.”

He believes it’s a good message for the industry. 

“We want to show the global pork industry that if you follow these protocols, you can control the virus and the virus doesn’t control you anymore. PRRS has been holding us hostage since its inception,” Dee says. “Now we’ve turned the tables on it. Next-generation biosecurity isn’t perfect and we aren’t at 0, we will keep trying.”

Worthwhile Investment
When money is limited, and you can only invest in so many things, Dee says this paper shows producers and veterinarians where to put resources.

“PRRS takes over and holds everyone hostage. The message for both groups is you can control this disease. You can reduce it to the point where the frequency of outbreaks is much less than it used to be,” Dee says. “That’s a huge first step to have proof that ‘no, this isn’t impossible.’ There is a way to deal with this disease.”

He adds that this message isn’t just for producers and swine vets – it’s a message for all veterinarians and can be especially helpful for poultry, cattle, kennels and any groups of animals housed in close proximity.

“The viruses may be different, but the challenges will be the same,” he says. “This information brings hope. It gives early adopters and the ones always looking for the next way to improve a chance to try it and see.”

*Editor’s Note: This paper was published recently in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Authors include Dee; Lisa Brands, Joel Nerem, Adam Schelkopf, Karyn Havas and Gordon Spronk of Pipestone; and Mariana Kikuti and Cesar Corzo of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Read the entire journal article here.


 

 

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