Agricultural News
USDA Researchers Working to Solve Swine Diseases
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 10:16:05 CDT
USDA researchers are working to solve a swine disease that has a major negative effect on the pork industry.
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome costs U.S. pork producers money and pigs every year.
Dr. Joan Lunney, a research scientist with the USDA says, "Overall, in the United States PRRS costs us 642 million a year and if you take into account veterinary costs, it's one billion a year in the U.S. alone. For young pigs being sick means respiratory problems and loss of growth, so it's a major issue in terms of production. In the adult sow, if she gets PRRS when she's pregnant, she can lose her litter, and/or her litter becomes sick and some pigs die in utero or are very unthrifty when they're born."
To alleviate this situation, Dr. Lunney and her colleagues in Beltsville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., have discovered a genetic marker that shows which pigs are resistant to the effects of PRRS.
" We've been able to show that there is a region on swine chromosome four that is associated with decreased viral levels and increased growth. So, this is really important because it means that we can help farmers now to decrease the effect of PRRS in their herds."
With this knowledge, animal producers and breeders could introduce PRRS-tolerant swine into their herds thereby reducing the effects of the virus.
To watch the video version of this story, click inside the box below.
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