National Pork Board PRRS Initiative

Since its discovery in 1991, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSV) has proven itself as a significant pathogen of swine in nearly all production areas of the world. While a great deal has been learned about the virus and the disease it causes in the decade since its discovery, producers and veterinarians still find themselves challenged in finding predictably successful tools for managing or eliminating the virus from farms. In early 2003, members of National Pork Board's Swine Health Committee began discussions on how to develop a coordinated PRRSV research effort that could be embraced by the entire industry. Through conversations with pork producers, university researchers and extension personnel, biopharmaceutical companies, state and federal government agencies, and swine veterinarians, the NPB PRRS Initiative was developed. The Initiative summarized the research and education needs of pork producers and veterinarians in thirteen broad objectives. These objectives will lead to the accelerated development of tools and strategies for the successful management of PRRS with efficient use of both the intellectual and financial resources of the U.S. swine industry:

• Quantify the Cost of PRRS to the U.S. Pork Industry - In Progress
• Publication and Distribution of the 2003 PRRS Compendiums - Completed
• Development of New and Improved PRRSV Vaccines - Funding Available
• Understanding the Persistently Infected Pig - Funding Available
• Immune Therapy - Funding Available
• Development of a PRRS Virus “Typing” System - Funding Available
• PRRS Virus Genomic Sequencing and Creation of a National PRRS Database - Funding Available
• National Epidemiologic Investigations and Risk Factor Analysis - Funding Available
• Mechanisms of Between-Farm Viral Transmission - Funding Available
• Regional PRRS Elimination Demonstration Projects - Funding Available
• Engagement with the Work of International PRRS Researchers - In Progress
• Collaboration with Researchers of Related (non-Swine) Viruses - In Progress
• Development of a Real-Time PRRS Information/Education System - In Progress

Clearly, there is much work still to be done. The National Pork Board has made available $2 million in Pork Checkoff funding to continue work on the PRRS Initiative in 2004.