Prevacent PRRS vaccine, a modified-live respiratory vaccine effective in the reduction of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), respiratory form, in piglets aged 2 weeks or older, has been licensed by the USDA, reports Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Co. PRRS causes disease in two forms: a respiratory form that weakens young pigs’ ability to breathe and a more severe reproductive form that causes mass deaths in pigs during late pregnancy. Since its emergence in the late 1980s, the virus has cost the swine industry millions annually in respiratory disease in piglets and reproductive failure in sows. Current estimates place the cost at $560 to $660 million annually. “PRRS has grown to be a costly and challenging disease that is difficult to control at the local, regional, and national levels,” said Chris Chavis, senior director with Elanco North America Food Animal Business. “We are eager to bring producers a new product to tackle this devastating disease.” The vaccine is part of Elanco’s Full Value Pigs line, which includes a portfolio of products that help to control specific enteric and respiratory diseases. The viral strain in Prevacent PRRS is “highly relevant” to today’s swine operations, Elanco reports, which will provide effective protection against the respiratory form of PRRS in piglets. “The contemporary strain in Prevacent PRRS demonstrated cross protection against multiple difficult viral strains that may pose a threat to swine operations,” said Chavis. “Prevacent PRRS is a timely and effective solution for to meet the PRRS challenges producers are facing today.”
