A new study from the US puts the annual cost of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) at US$664 million – more than in 2005 and with a greater share of this cost in the breeding herd as some progress has been made inn controlling the disease in growing pigs.

In the Journal of Swine Health and Production, Dr Derald J. Holtkamp of the Veterinary Medical Center in Ames, Iowa report a paper estimating the current annual economic impact of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) on the US swine industry. Co-authors of the paper were from Iowa State University, Massey University in New Zealand, Innovative Agriculture Solutions in Ames, Swine Veterinary Center in St Peter, Minnesota and Centers for USDA Epidemiology and Animal Health group in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Data for the analysis was compiled from the DA, a survey of swine veterinarians on the incidence and impact of PRRSV and production records (2005 to 2010) from commercial farms with known PRRSV status.

Animal-level economic impact of productivity losses and other costs attributed to PRRSV were estimated using an enterprise budgeting approach and extrapolated to the national level on the basis of the US breeding-herd inventory, number of pigs marketed, and number of pigs imported for growing.

The total cost of productivity losses due to PRRSV in the US national breeding and growing-pig herd was estimated at US$664 million annually, an increase from the US$560 million annual cost estimated in 2005.

The 2011 study differed most significantly from the 2005 study in the allocation of losses between the breeding and the growing-pig herd. Losses in the breeding herd accounted for 12 per cent of the total cost of PRRSV in the 2005 study and 45 per cent in the current analysis.

Despite over 25 years of experience and research, PRRS remains a costly disease of pigs in the United States, concluded Holtkamp and his co-authors. Since 2005, some progress has been made in dealing with the cost of productivity losses due to the disease in the growing pig but these were offset by greater losses in the breeding herd.

Reference

^{Holtkamp D.J., Kliebenstein J.B., Neumann E.J., J. J. Zimmerman, H.F. Rotto, T.K. Yoder, C. Wang, P.E. Yeske, C.L. Mowrer and C.A. Haley. 2013. Assessment of the economic impact of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus on United States pork producers. J Swine Health Prod. 2013;21(2):72-84.}

May 2013