BIVI: $100,000 for 2009 PRRS Research

05-06-2009 | Home | News

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has presented its annual Advancement in Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Research Awards. This year BIVI awarded $100,000 to support four separate studies by independent swine researchers and practitioners to find ways to diagnose, control and eradicate PRRS. New research efforts focus on lateral infection, ventilation factors and biosecurity.

This is the seventh year that BIVI has sponsored the PRRS research awards. The following are the 2009 research award recipients and their research proposals:

©•©Jerry Torrison, DVM, University of Minnesota, will look at biofilters’ effects on the quantity of virus to determine the amount of PRRS virus exhausted from mechanically vented finishing barns versus barns with biofilters placed on the outside of exhaust fans.
©•©Darwin Reickes, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn., will study the effects of modified-live PRRS vaccine alone or in conjunction with killed-virus vaccines on late-term pregnant gilts.
©•©Spencer Wayne, DVM, Pipestone Veterinary Clinic, Pipestone, Minn., will evaluate the ecology of the PRRS virus in farrowing and virus transmission risk factors prior to weaning.
©•©Amber Stricker, DVM, Suidae Health and Production, Algona, Iowa, will study whether there is a predictable degree of variability in PRRS virus ORF5 sequencing within and among state diagnostic laboratories.

The research proposals were selected based on established criteria that include potential for economic impact to the pork industry, originality and scientific quality, and probability of success in completing the study. More information can be found at www.prrsresearch.com.
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