The Director of Swine Health with Manitoba Pork says strategies implemented in Manitoba to help contain the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, have helped contain PRRS and other diseases.

Last month the Swine Health Information Center reported the highest percentage of PCR-positive case submissions for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome in the wean-to-market category in the United States since 2018.

Jenelle Hamblin, the Director of Swine Health with Manitoba Pork, says biosecurity protocols implemented through Manitoba’s PED elimination plan to contain PED have also helped contain other infections.

PRRS can be transmitted directly or indirectly, so if you have an infected animal, through direct contact with infected saliva, feces, urine, any fluids such as that or if it’s in the environment it can enter through cuts or abrasions on the skin if that virus is present. Also, it can move indirectly through contaminated footwear or clothing or transport trailers so it really does come down to ensuring that your cleaning and disinfection is being done well and your cognizant of those biosecurity practices coming into and off of the farm.

PRRS in Manitoba really does remain relatively stable. We have not just simply seen the same level of positivity for PRRS here in Manitoba specifically and I do think it does come down to the level of biosecurity that we have put in place as a result of our elimination plan.

I would say, from my perspective, for strategies would be thinking about prevention. We need to, as an industry, focus in on preventing PRRS here in in Manitoba, especially a highly virulent strain, and that really means being diligent with our biosecurity when visiting high traffic facilities, in transport, making sure transport trailers are cleaned and disinfected and your on-farm biosecurity protocols are consistently applied each day.

~ Jenelle Hamblin, Manitoba Pork

Hamblin says the beauty of biosecurity is it isn’t disease specific. She says biosecurity and biocontainment protocols put in place to protect the farm cover a wide array of diseases.