PRRS 1-4-4 L1C Detections Hit Highest Level Since Emergence

Dec 13, 2022

U.S. pork producers are being advised to keep on top of the PRRS strains circulating in their barns in order to determine the best options for protecting their pigs.
The Swine Health Information Center's domestic swine disease surveillance report for December indicates the incidence of PRRS detection increased last month, propelled by the highest number of PRRS 1-4-4 L1C variant detections since its emergence in 2020.
Swine Health Information Center Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says detections increased in all age groups.

Clip-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:
We are seeing this increase in the L1C variant and the states with the highest number of that variant virus detected were Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri.
We see this Lineage 1C variant increase throughout the Midwest.
This variant has been seen in grow finish and has been seen at an increased rate of lateral spread from grow finish site to grow finish site and then we've seen this increase in the spillover to sow farms in areas that are either swine dense or have a very high density with regards to the PRRS virus strain, this Lineage 1C strain.
One of the Advisory Committee's recommendations is that we have not seen this Lineage 1C variant in as high a levels in the states that are east of the Mississippi River.
So, thinking about that there are still locations in the U.S. and in other countries that have not seen this Lineage 1C variant, the Advisory Group's hope is that those states will remain negative and have the biosecurity practices in place to prevent entry because, as we've seen over the past two years, once it's introduced into in a state and to a region, it's been difficult top control and difficult to eliminate.

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Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.