By Pig Improvement Company (PIC)
For the past 20 to 30 years, PRRS has taken an incredible toll on the farmers and veterinarians striving for the best possible animal health outcomes. Efforts to control the disease and minimize animal suffering require intensive intervention, with research showing up to a 3.79x increase in antibiotic use for infected herds. And despite those best efforts, the end result can still be devastating.
“PRRS has been the most frustrating thing we’ve had to deal with as veterinarians,” says Dr. Jason Hocker, partner and veterinarian at AMVC, a firm managing 161,500 sows across 11 states and 45 farms. “The virus changes and adapts and seems to always be one step ahead of us. It’s something we’ve not been able to make lot of progress on as an industry.”
The emotional toll on pig caretakers
The impact of PRRS extends beyond the animal and into the lives of those who care for them.
“It’s not just frustrating, it’s also emotionally taxing to the vets, farmers and farm employees who have to deal with what comes next after diagnosis,” adds Hocker. “Once you have a diagnosis, your heart just sinks and you immediately know it’s going to be challenging for weeks and months to come. You never really get used to it.”
Innovation to change the outlook
The decades-long trajectory could finally be changing with FDA approval of the gene edit used in PIC’s PRRS-resistant pig. This new tool can help chart a new future.
The gene edit precisely removes the binding site for PRRS via a protein in the pig’s DNA. Without the binding site, pigs can be resistant to the disease – and potentially avoid needless suffering, including fever, appetite loss, lethargy, weakness, death and more.
This innovation could paint a brighter picture for both swine health and responsible antibiotic use.
Advancing animal medicine towards human medicine
“Looking ahead, it’s incredibly exciting to know that we may have options to help us move the needle on this devastating disease,” says Hocker.
“We’re looking at the future of medicine here, not just animal medicine – but human medicine, too. The human side has been making advancements for years, so it’s exciting to step into the arena on the swine side and start paving a brighter future.”
Addressing the primary PRRS insult
Better pig health and a reduced need for antibiotics benefit the full supply chain – from farm to consumer. And it starts with focusing on PRRS.
“Today, we can’t treat the primary insult of PRRS,” says Hocker. “We’re treating all the things that come along with PRRS infection. If we successfully eliminate the primary PRRS insult, then we don’t have to worry about treating all the secondary infections that come along with it.”
Supporting antimicrobial stewardship
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has outlined core principles to improve antimicrobial stewardship.
The gene edit for a PRRS-resistant pig would support two of those principles: 1) systems of care that include a multi-pronged approach to preventing common diseases, and 2) positively impacting judicious use of antimicrobials.
“That’s huge for the pig and for public health, because we’re less reliant on the antimicrobials needed to keep pigs alive and healthy,” says Hocker.
Dig deeper into the research on how a PRRS outbreak impacts antibiotic use on farm.
Source:
Machado, I. et al. “Assessment of changes in antibiotic usage in grow-finish pigs after the introduction of PRRSV in naïve farrow-to-finish system.” Iowa State University. 2023. https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/105655
