Researchers at the University of Minnesota Swine Disease Eradication Center (SDEC) have released a new swine biosecurity manual that provides biosecurity protocols for the prevention of spread of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV).
The 17-page document was developed with a grant from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation (AASVF). It is available at the AASV web site for members under the PRRS Committee in a PDF format.
Scott Dee, DVM, director of the SDEC, says the manual is based on biosecurity protocols that were developed at the university’s swine research farm in western Minnesota. Those efforts were reported in National Hog Farmer (“Reducing the Area Spread of PRRS,” Nov. 15, 2007, pages 8, 10 and 11). Browse this back issue.
“It is knowledge that is written for veterinarians and producers and lay people and that we want to disseminate throughout the pork industry,” Dee says.
The AASV site provides a place where veterinarians can go to obtain the full document, written in producer-friendly language and illustrated with color photos, to share with pork producer partners.
Sections of the manual cover direct routes of virus spread, such as pigs and semen, and indirect routes including facilities, needles, transport, personnel, fomites, insects and aerosols.
The document covers other areas of concern including pig meat, lagoon effluent and carcass disposal, and provides a lengthy list of research article citations as suggested reading.
“We are trying to reach producers as well as practitioners and really putting forward standardized ways on such areas as how to handle people entry, air filtration, trucks and what disinfectants to use,” Dee explains.
The primary author of the document is Andrea Pitkin, who received her master’s degree last summer, and is a second-year doctor of veterinary medicine student under advisor and co-author Dee. Another contributing author is Satoshi Otake, DVM.