Leman: Economic impact of PRRS

Onyekachukwu Henry Osemeke, Iowa State University, and colleagues at University of Minnesota, presented the results of a study at the 2024 Leman Swine Conference.

The last economic impact of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in the United States was estimated in 2013 at $664 million a year, using data from 2005 to 2010. Over the last decade, the swine industry has undergone significant changes. This study updated the annual economic impact of PRRSV on US pork producers due to lost productivity.

Data from 2016 to 2020 were used, following the same methodology as the 2013 study. Four factors were used to estimate the cost of PRRSV: the productivity differences between herds that are affected by PRRSV compared to unaffected herds, the distribution of herds according to PRRSV status, the national swine inventory, and production prices and costs.

To estimate productivity differences, breed-to-wean herds (BH) were assigned categories based on the updated American Association of Swine Veterinarians breeding herd classification system, vaccine use, and outbreak history.

BH were classified as:

• BH-A if PRRSV-provisional negative or negative,
• BH-B if PRRSV-positive stable,
• BH-C if PRRSV-positive unstable,
• BH-D for the first 16 weeks following an outbreak in an initially PRRSV-positive herd,
• BH-E for the first 16 weeks following an outbreak in an initially PRRSV-negative herd.