NC State Researchers Partner with USDA to Combat Deadly Virus Affecting Pigs Nationwide

Oct 23, 2023

By studying the role unclean vehicles might have in transmitting a swine coronavirus, researchers help boost North Carolina’s food animal industry and support federal agencies in fighting other devastating diseases.

Researchers from the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine are investigating ways to improve swine health by stopping the spread of contagious diseases.
In human medicine, the word “coronavirus” conjures images of masks, vaccines and nasal swabs. But in swine medicine, a different coronavirus causing gastrointestinal symptoms has plagued pig populations and stymied veterinarians for a decade.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDV, is a highly infectious microbe that causes severe diarrhea and vomiting in pigs. It has a mortality rate of between 50 and 100 percent in infected piglets but generally is not fatal in adult hogs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notes.

Click here to see more...

Video: Unveiling a Breakthrough Genetic Solution for Future-Proof, Sustainable Pork Production

Marcel Huijsmans, Global Marketing Director at Topigs Norsvin tells us about their new genetic solution R3silience that offers a solid alternative to how the industry can approach disease management.

R3silience delivers scientifically proven, naturally resilient pigs that thrive under disease pressure, enabling more predictable, sustainable production by reducing losses and sustaining growth under disease challenge.

R3silience pigs deliver higher survival, stronger overall performance, and healthier herds - reducing wean-to-finish mortality by up to 6 percentage points during multifactorial PRRS outbreak*.

R3silience pigs not only show higher survival, but also deliver superior growth, improving daily weight gain by up to 0.04lbs. per day under multifactorial PRRS outbreak.*

Pigs with enhanced resilience to both viral and bacterial diseases require fewer health interventions and up to 8% less antibiotic treatments from wean-to-finish*, supporting better animal welfare.

For more information visit https://topigsnorsvin.com/products/r3...