Our nation’s Windy City hosted the 2015 North American PRRS Symposium and Boehringer Ingelheim hosted a session on “Combatting the Latest PRRS Cycle.”

Dr. Bill Hollis, Carthage Vet Services, was one of the speakers who focused on the production side of PRRS and explained key field experiences used in control and management with one of the newest PRRS strains, 174.

“Our strategies and control programs are in an effort to help producers who are both trying to prevent the entrance of PRRS into their populations and field experiences with control and then moving that virus out of that pig population.”

Dr. Hollis said if he had a hog operation he would consider immunity first. He said the real decision for producers on the farm is what am I going to do to either prevent the virus or to minimize the losses from the entry of the virus.

Dr. Hollis said there are key elements to prevent the swarm. Stop moving pigs around. Stage your virus activity. Identify the virus. Stop fostering. No gilt entry. He stressed the importance of planning ahead so the steps needed are ready to implement when a outbreak occurs. This ensures a quick, healthy return to baseline production.

Learn more from Dr. Hollis here: Interview with Dr. Bill Hollis, Carthage Vet Services

View and download photos from the event here: 2015 BIVI PRRS Seminar Photo Album