The Associate Director of the Swine Health Information Center suggests increases in cases of both PRRS and PED in December demonstrate the need for strengthened biocontainment on farm, especially during the colder winter months.
As part of its January eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center has released its domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports.SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says case positivity increased for both Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.
Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
PRRS reached its highest percentage case positivity by PCR at 48.5 percent in the wean to market category since 2018. PRRS has been seen at higher-than-expected rates throughout 2025 and so that's always been a concern.Also noted in November and December PED case positivity increased in sow herds at 11.5 percent and 25.2 percent case positivity in facilities was also noticed and this was the highest since 2023.
In addition, with cooler winter months both viruses tend to have increased survivability and can become a challenge when we're trying to assess sanitation to prevent any further spread of the viruses.So, it's very important to really focus on strengthening biocontainment to help prevent the disease from moving farm to farm but also to continue to monitor to be able to understand what are the trends occurring on farms or even in a region to help producers and their veterinarians identify different measures that they can take to help prevent an outbreak in their herds.
Dr. Becton notes in addition to the monitoring reports there's also a bonus page which outlines some of retrospective insights and highlights from 2025.
The domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports can be accessed through SHIC's website at swinehealth.org.
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