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Studying Lessons in PRRS Transmission
By Marlys Miller. Pork Magazine - When porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome surfaced in a dozen or so boar studs across southern Minnesota and parts of Iowa this past winter, things certainly heated up.
The hot question: "How could the virus find its way into the biosecure world of these boar studs?"
Certainly PRRS virus transmission has kept researchers, veterinarians and producers scratching their heads for years. Pig to pig and infected boar semen are known transmission routes, but beyond that few concrete answers exist.
"We have to look outside the box in terms of these viruses, and the possible transmission roles that non-porcine vectors and fomites play," says Scott Dee, swine veterinarian and PRRS researcher at the University of Minnesota.
Indeed, that's what a team of University of Minnesota Swine Disease Eradication Center researchers set out to do. Directed by Carlos Pijoan, professor of swine medicine, the Center's quick response was based on input from an advisory board of pork industry representatives. Clinical disease signs among herds ranged from mild to severe, with extreme cases seeing high mortality throughout the farm. The outbreaks occurred in PRRS-positive farms as well as negative farms.
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(May 2002)
