Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome
Forum: Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)
I am a small pig farmer in Thailand (80 sow / 8 boars / 60 gilt farm). Our farm primarily is in the business of raising piglets for sale at 35 days as market finishing pigs - we only raise finish pigs from piglets that do not reach our standards for sale to the public. We also raise gilts and sell sperm.
In Thailand, and all bordering countries, there is currently a large problem with PRRS. We, piglet sellers, were first restricted to selling piglets only within Thailand (no live pigs can be exported). Then several weeks ago we were limited to shipping within our own province. Now we are even limited to a few locations within our Province. It is a scary time as many pig farms around us are being destroyed by PRRS.
Efforts to keep the disease off of our farm are: We are totally a closed farm and no one from outside our staff is allowed on the farm. Secondly even our staff is required to change clothes prior to entry onto the farm. Thirdly we spray the entire area several times daily in attempt to kill any air-born disease from reaching us. Fourth, we deliver piglets and then spray our truck on return – the truck is kept away from the farm and piglets are taken out to the truck for loading. Lastly we deliver sperm orders to a location about 1km away from the farm.
We have inquired at our local livestock government office about inoculation of the entire pig population but they recommend against it. They say there are too many different strains of PRRS for inoculation to be effective.
My direct question is what else can we do? (Yes - my wife prays to her Buddha ancestors and I pray to my Christian God for help but we know we are the ones that need to take action). There is no insurance available to help if our pigs are all lost!
Thanks, Randall
Hi Randall,
How far is your farm away from other pig farms and what is the pig density around your farm?
Am I right I saying that your herd is totally closed (no introduction of live pigs nor pig semen) ?
If it is the case and if the biosecurity measures that you described are well applied, the major risk of contamination of your farm is through the air (aerosol) and eventually through insects.
Indeed PRRSV may be transported on several kilometers by the air or insects
I would not recommend to inoculate or vaccinate your herd at this time.
However a problem will be the acclimatization of your piglets (PRRSV free) when introduced in PRRSV infected herds.
By the way what kind of PRRSV vaccines are available in Thaïland ?
Good luck.
Andrew
André Broes, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Canada
Dear Randall, PRRS is an issue very hard to manage, because its feasibility to spread throuh the air or insects to or from the neighbourhood as Dr. Broes commented. But, there are strategies to fight PRRS virus. One of them is to close the herd for more than six months (no pigs replacement enter to herd), estrict biosecurity (fomites, persons, domestic animals, foreing trucks, etc. are forbiden to enter to herd). These two strategies are the basic keys to control or erradicate PRRS. PRRS virus needs some susceptible pigs to mantain alive into the herd and to spread throuh the whole herd. Let PRRS virus to burn it itself, it means don´t let any susceptible pigs surroundings ill pigs. By using a medicated feed or medicated water you can help pigs avoiding the secundary infection. Try to use only bactericidal antibiotics to control the secondaries.
Hope this can help you.
Eduardo J. Kwiecien, DVM, MAASV
Venezuela
Thank you Doctors Broes and Kwiecien, your help is appreciated!
In answer to your question: There is one large farm about 5km away – in Thailand many village families raise one or two pigs at their residences and within 5km there are many of these. I have heard of no small farm problems but the large farm mentioned is infected.
And, I am saddened to add, since writing it is now confirmed so are we.
Yesterday we sold all of our boars after they were inspected by a government DVM which confirmed PRRS. Today we are contacting buyers for all of our gilts to be sold as market pigs – almost all of them are healthy and awesome looking gilts. Any sow showing signs of being sick will be culled immediately and then “tomorrow” after weaning we will cull all of the sows. Any PRRS indication in new born piglets will result in the litter being destroyed immediately.
After the total depopulation we will wait for the PRRS to run its course in Asia and then, hopefully, start up again. Maybe we will be able to “put on a new skin” and have a better plan based on what we learned is good and what was bad.
In about three months we will sleep in late!
Thanks again for your help,
Randall
Hi Randal,
It is difficult to control your neighbors. Even though you can start talk to them to have a regional plan of biosecurity.
The best that you can do is the following key point that you can control
1. Enhance the biosecurity measurements
2. Do not allow visitors to your farm
3. Clean and disinfect all the vehicles
4. If the vaccine is available in your area, investigate if there in your area is a season where the PRRS breaks increment. Then use a mass vaccination (all the sows) during that season every 3 months. In my case work very good even the farms that break did not have the detrimental effect.
5. Is very important that you try to control all the other diseases that are endemic in your herd. The most damage of the PRRS disease are the secondary infections
6. Is very important that your piglets drink enough colostrum and do not move pigs after 24 hrs. Reduce nurse sows to the minimum.
7. Remember everything that is introduced to your farm must be clean and disinfected.
Thanks
Pablo Moreno DVM
Hi Randall,
Sad news indeed.
However I am concerned about how the government DVM did diagnose PRRSV infection ... based on what ???
Clinical signs of PRRS are not pathognomonic (what clinical signs do you have in your herd ?).
Diagnosis has to be based on virus or virus antibodies identification
Look at: http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Our_scientific_expertise/docs/pdf/PRRS_guide_web_bulletin.pdf
Good luck
Best regards
Andrew
Thank you Dr. Broes,
After my last writing, that we would depopulate, things have changed. That same day the local government office sent us a team of doctors from BACO in Bangkok who are distributors for Hipra. The team spent two days on our farm helping us learn about PRRS and "fighting" the disease.
We have now vacinated the entire herd and all piglets with Amervac Live PRRS virus VP046 BIS strain = 103.5 TCID50. We have lost some of our herd and had depopulated all of the boars prior to the team coming to the farm. It appears that we now have PRRS "under control".
Any sow or gilt that had signs of PRRS will stay out of the breeding program for 2 cycles.
All piglets will be vaccinated prior to sale and sows will get a booster of inactivated vaccine prior to farrowing
Now we really have "wait" and see what we have "left" after the battle is over.
We have been blessed with government officals that cared about our farm and sent the team from BACO, Bangkok, and Hipra Malaysia. We are now "smarter". Many of our customers are now following our lead and vacinating their pigs. Soon I will add "this experience" to our farm web site SurinFarm to help others that may be in our same situation.
Once again, thanks to all of you for helping us,
Randall, SurinFarm
Dr. Broes the link in your posting came back invalid, I would love to read the bulletin.
Ther are many ways to confront this disease:
*Absolute biosegurity
*Do not enter news animals to your farm for one year
*After your replacemente will be of your own farm, if it's from out will be 20-25 days old, no more
*After 70 days old, you will mix with your own animal (same age).
*At the same time will give mummify fetus, placenta, harvest, from sows to 3-5 of births
*It's important to do test serologic to PRRS, in all farm, under a established plan.
*You will to sell semen out of your farm, from PRRS free boars.
If it's plan don't posible, you will think in a vaccination plan, with alive strain of PRRS.
Good luck
