Pork Industry Recovering from PCVAD Losses

US - Last year, the US pork industry was struggling with the impact of PCVAD (porcine circovirus associated diseases) and many huge losses were reported.
calendar icon 19 June 2008
clock icon 3 minute read

But, with vaccines available for the disease, the industry is starting to recover from the losses, said Lisa Becton, director of swine health information and research with the National Pork Board, according to Livestock Roundup.

“I'm not sure of another occasion where a first-time vaccine has worked this well,” she said.

“We are definitely seeing a payoff with the vaccine, anywhere from $4 to $8 per head. That's mostly because of decreased mortality, but also because of increased gain.”

She said while the industry appears to have a handle on PCVAD, other associated diseases such as PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) influenza remain costly to producers.

“We have made a lot of strides with PRRS as far as biosecurity is concerned, and we have done a lot of work on reducing PRRS from a transportation perspective,” Becton said. “But, as far as having an effective vaccine, we're not where we want to be. There is still a lot we don't know about this disease.”

Becton said Minnesota researchers have had success with a regional eradication effort.

A new disease that has industry experts concerned is what Becton calls high fever disease. This disease is hitting producers hard in Southeast Asia, she said.

“It's not just PRRS. It's something that is proving difficult to handle,” Becton said. “We haven't seen it yet in the U.S., but it has us very concerned and we are paying very close attention to it.”

View the Livestock Roundup story by clicking here.

Further Reading

- Find out more information on PCVAD by clicking here.

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