News – PRRSControl

Efficacy of UNISTRAIN® PRRS ID against PRRSV2 alone or coinfected with PRRSV1

HIPRA Swine Unit — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 11:24:55 +0000

Different modified live vaccines (MLV) are available in the market for both PRRSV-1 and PRRSV-2. Which should we use to successfully control PRRS in regions where there’s coinfection? The co-existence of both PRRSV-1 and PRRSV-2 at individual and herd level has been increasingly reported in several Asian countries, including China, Korea, and Vietnam (Chen et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2011) and also in some European countries such as Denmark and Germany. Different modified live vaccines (MLV) are available in the market for both PRRSV species so it is difficult to justify which species of PRRSV MLV should be used to successfully control PRRS in the region where the coinfection does exist. UNISTRAIN® PRRS is the live attenuated vaccine based on PRRSV1 from HIPRA, commercially available in both intramuscular (IM) and intradermal (ID) administration applied by Hipradermic®. UNISTRAIN® PRRS administered IM, has already demonstrated partial protection against heterologous PRRSV1 (Bonckaert et al., 2016) or PRRSV2 (Roca et al., 2012). However, UNISTRAIN® PRRS had not been evaluated yet against the coinfection of PRRSV1 and PRRSV2 at the same time. On the other hand, there are not any report on the induction of immune response, IL-10 production and protective efficacy of the […]

The post Efficacy of UNISTRAIN® PRRS ID against PRRSV2 alone or coinfected with PRRSV1 appeared first on PRRSControl.

PRRS: What have we learned after 30 years?

HIPRA Swine Unit — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 08:00:11 +0000

The PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) is at the centre of every conversation between farmers and swine veterinarians in the most important pig producing countries worldwide because of the significant productive and economic losses caused on pig farms due to reproductive failure in breeding females and respiratory distress in pigs of different ages (Rossow KD, 1994). Owing to the fact that it is a disease with important aspects still to be clarified, the success of disease control depends on a combination of different strategies. This approach includes health management, monitoring with diagnostics, biosecurity evaluation and vaccination playing a fundamental role. The importance of PRRS monitoring Monitoring allows us to use the most common diagnostic techniques for PRRS so that we can be informed of the status of the animals at all times, know at what age they are infected and how the virus is transmitted within the farm. The lack of systematic monitoring of the PRRSV leads to irregular and non-standardised information about the status of farms, making it even more difficult to understand how the virus flows within the farm and how to control it over time. Although several PRRS diagnostic techniques are available in […]

The post PRRS: What have we learned after 30 years? appeared first on PRRSControl.

PRRS intradermal vaccination of sows: another step forward in the control of PRRS

HIPRA Swine Unit — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 07:52:45 +0000

Numerous strategies have been described for the control of PRRS on farms. After more than 25 years dealing with PRRS disease, most vets agree that in order to successfully control the disease a combination of the following measures is required: animal management, biosecurity, diagnosis and active immunisation. Although vaccination does not necessarily provide full and universal protection against PRRS infection, vaccines have beneficial effects in terms of clinical and virological protection, reducing the impact of the disease. PRRS sow vaccination: What are the benefits? It has been demonstrated that sow vaccination is effective for reduce the number of abortions, the mortality rate of new-born piglets and other reproductive disorders related to PRRS virus infection. On the other hand, with regard to virological parameters, vaccines help to reduce transmission of the infection, since they can contribute to reduce viraemia and shedding. As result, breeding herd vaccination is a useful tool to: Stabilize the herd: thanks to the decrease in the vertical transmission from sows to foetuses. Minimise the impact of an outbreak: due to the homogenization of the sow herd immunity, avoiding negative subpopulations. In this way, there will be fewer opportunities for infection and in the case of infection, […]

The post PRRS intradermal vaccination of sows: another step forward in the control of PRRS appeared first on PRRSControl.

“Together Against PRRS”: Results of the systematic monitoring program and its impact on the control of PRRS

HIPRA Swine Unit — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 12:17:06 +0000

In previous posts we talked about “Together Against PRRS”, a global integrated program developed by HIPRA for the control of PRRSv. In this entry we’ll focus on the results of the systematic monitoring program and its impact on the control of PRRS on pig farms within a Spanish large production group. A total of 40 Spanish breeding herds enrolled in the program. All of them were classified following the Holtkamp classification system (Holtkamp et al., 2011) following the same diagnostic monitoring protocol: monthly individual blood sampling of 30 due-to-wean piglets. Samples were pooled and tested for PRRSv RNA by RT-PCR. As we explained in the previous post, some PCR-positive result samples were also sequenced with the objective of describing the PRRSv genetic diversity among the study herds. What was the trend in terms of PRRSv status? 13 samplings per farm were performed during the one-year monitoring period on the 35 PRRSv positive farms included in the study. Farm classification trends according to PRRS status (PUS: PRRS positive unstable; PSS: PRRS positive stable) are shown in Figure 1. As shown in the figure above, the percentage of PSS farms increased from the beginning of the study until […]

The post “Together Against PRRS”: Results of the systematic monitoring program and its impact on the control of PRRS appeared first on PRRSControl.

“Together Against PRRS”, a systematic monitoring program for PRRS on swine farms

HIPRA Swine Unit — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:01:34 +0000

Introducing “Together Against PRRS”: HIPRA’s new program for the control of PRRS which includes systematic monitoring, biosecurity evaluation, vaccination plan design and productive and economic impact evaluation. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is still the disease with the greatest economic impact on swine production worldwide, causing significant productive and economic losses on pig farms due to reproductive failure in breeding females and respiratory distress in pigs of different ages (Rossow KD, 1994). Owing to the fact that it is a disease with important aspects still to be clarified, the success of disease control depends on a combination of different strategies. The role of monitoring in the global strategy against PRRS Biosecurity, management or vaccination are three of these strategies, but in this post we are going to focus in monitoring, which allows us to use the most common diagnostic techniques for PRRS so that we can be informed of the status of the animals at all times, know at what age they are infected and how the virus is transmitted within the farm. For this reason, epidemiological knowledge not only at farm but also at regional level is key for the control strategy for this […]

The post “Together Against PRRS”, a systematic monitoring program for PRRS on swine farms appeared first on PRRSControl.

Efficacy of a PRRS vaccine: The importance of using a complete dose

HIPRA Swine Unit — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 08:00:27 +0000

Vaccines are not dosed in the same way as antibiotics. A vaccine dose does NOT depend on body weight: The mechanism of action of vaccines is different to that of antibiotics and, as a result, the dose does not depend on the body weight of the target animal. A vaccine does not have to be distributed throughout the body and the vaccine components (antigen and adjuvant) do not act directly on the pathogen. The activity of vaccines, for instance PRRS virus vaccines, starts at the inoculation site itself by means of a rapid and local innate response. As a result of this phase, antigen-presenting cells are activated (dendritic cells and/or macrophages) that are responsible for processing the antigen and carrying it to the closest lymph nodes where they activate specific T and B lymphocytes, thereby starting the acquired immune response. In a second phase, effector T cells and B plasma cells are generated that produce cytokines and antibodies respectively, ensuring a concentration in the blood and tissues that is independent of the age/weight of the animal for the same dose of vaccine. Does the same thing happen with human vaccines? In human medicine, the vaccines that are used in children (paediatric vaccines) and in adults are the same and are used in […]

The post Efficacy of a PRRS vaccine: The importance of using a complete dose appeared first on PRRSControl.

HIPRA on the cutting edge of innovation with SMART VACCINATION

HIPRA Swine Unit — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000

At the IPVS/ESPHM Congress 2016, HIPRA unveiled SMART VACCINATION, a completely new and revolutionary concept that combines technology, expertise and customer service. The idea behind this project is to offer customers maximum reliability (precision, control and safety) when administrating animal health vaccines. SMART VACCINATION opens up a whole new world of benefits that only the Leader in Prevention can offer. Specifically, it is based on combining three interconnected elements: highly innovative vaccines, vaccination tools and vaccination process management software. Combined with cutting-edge and pioneering animal health technology, these three elements offer users fully automatic and full connectivity between the vaccine, the farms and the vaccine administrators (veterinarians and farmers), all in real time. Having undoubtedly revolutionised the swine industry, it also represents a major step forward in veterinary medicine as a whole. How did the concept come about? Through direct contact with pig producers around the world, the HIPRA team was able to gather information about the requirements of vaccine users. Accordingly, HIPRA has received countless comments or questions, such as the following: How can I be sure that I have vaccinated correctly? Was the vaccination time correct? Which vaccine? How many vaccinations have I administered in total? What is the batch […]

The post HIPRA on the cutting edge of innovation with SMART VACCINATION appeared first on PRRSControl.

What we have learned about PRRS disease after 20 years?

HIPRA Swine Unit — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 08:00:03 +0000

The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome has been the disease that has changed many ideas in global pig production in the same way as HIV did in the human population. Listening to the testimonies of opinion leaders in this video, it is fair to say that we have learned a lot and that the video captures two visions: that of the scientists and that of the practitioners. Conceptually, there are certain similarities between the PRRS and AIDS, the latter appearing in the 1980s, whilst PRRS appeared in the 1990s. In both cases, they are very serious diseases in the affected populations and despite the fact that there is still no cure, there has been much progress in our knowledge of the viruses that are responsible for them, and how to improve control strategies for them. Improved biosecurity in pig production is equivalent to the educational measures used to reduce the risk of sexual transmission. Fortunately, today the mortality associated with HIV, despite having been very high, has been dramatically reduced and is associated with concomitant diseases, sounds familiar? There are also major differences between the two syndromes – the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome remains a potential cause of death throughout the […]

The post What we have learned about PRRS disease after 20 years? appeared first on PRRSControl.

Which few words come to mind when you hear PRRS?

HIPRA Swine Unit — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 08:00:16 +0000

The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is at the centre of every conversation between farmers and swine veterinarians in the most important pig producing countries worldwide, with the exception of Australia, Brazil, Argentina and some Scandinavian countries. If you are working in an environment that is positive for the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome, control of the disease is the key element in all discussions. The vets in this video reflect perfectly what PRRS means when someone mentions this BIG WORD. PRRS means problems, regardless of whether it is the respiratory or the reproductive form of the disease, everything gets worse when PRRS is around, says Albert Rovira in his contribution, and this is really relevant because working in diagnostics as he does, there are few cases where the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome is not involved. It´s pretty well known that this disease is normally at the centre of any respiratory coinfection in piglets and fatteners. However, for Alberto Stephano the key word is frustration and it certainly is, he is absolutely right because, in the past or even today, a great deal of effort has gone into to controlling this syndrome and yet there have been many failures. […]

The post Which few words come to mind when you hear PRRS? appeared first on PRRSControl.

HIPRA presents its “SMART VACCINATION CONCEPT” at IPVS/ESPHM 2016

HIPRA Swine Unit — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 08:00:53 +0000

Spearheaded by UNISTRAIN® PRRS, Hipradermic® and HIPRAlink®, the “SMART VACCINATION CONCEPT” offers connectivity between vaccines, farms and personnel, representing one step forward in veterinary medicine. This new and revolutionary concept combines technology, expertise and customer service. Once again, HIPRA took part as a Premium Sponsor in the 24th IPVS Congress that was held on 7th to 10th June last. On this occasion, the International Pig Veterinary Society and the European Symposium of Porcine Health Management joined forces to bring together over 3,500 delegates from all over the world in Dublin. In the incomparable setting of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, HIPRA presented a completely new and revolutionary concept to its guests, called the “SMART VACCINATION CONCEPT”, which combines technology, expertise and customer service. In swine, the “SMART VACCINATION CONCEPT” is spearheaded by UNISTRAIN® PRRS, the first and only vaccine in the world of animal health that includes RFID technology in its label. Besides the vaccine, the SMART VACCINATION concept is completed by Hipradermic®, a new needle-free medical device with connectivity for intradermal administration and finally, HIPRAlink®, a third element known as, software that has been specially developed to provide traceability for vaccination processes. These three elements incorporate cutting-edge and pioneering technology […]

The post HIPRA presents its “SMART VACCINATION CONCEPT” at IPVS/ESPHM 2016 appeared first on PRRSControl.