PRRSV infection is a chronic infection, persisting in an animal for months. While the early stages of disease are associated with virus in the blood, that virus is eventually cleared; however, virus remains in the lymphoid tissues. This persistence is…
Optimal dietary energy and protein for the development of gilts
Sow longevity is a key component for efficient and profitable pig farming and efforts to improve it should start with the adequate management of replacement gilts. A key factor in gilt management is to provide them with adequate feeding that…
National Animal Health Monitoring Survey for Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spiralis
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) in 1983 to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on animal health, management, and productivity in U.S. domestic livestock populations. The purpose of this study was…
Assessment of heteroclite-vectored cytokines as a means to increase efficiency of modified live PRRSV DIVA vaccine preparations
Many significant hurdles have complicated vaccine development for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). This work utilized a naturally occurring byproduct of PRRSV replication called heteroclite RNA that has been shown to be packaged along with normal infectious virus.…
Effect of lysozyme or antibiotics in ameliorating the effects of an indirect diseases challenge
Subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics are used in swine feed as growth promotants, to improve feed efficiency, and to reduce the susceptibility to bacterial infections. As a result, the use of antibiotics improves the profitability of production for swine producers. However,…
Investigating potential existence of chronic, persistent foot-and-mouth disease virus infection in domestic pigs; implications for disease control strategies
The severe measures routinely enacted for control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks are based upon extreme contagiousness of the disease, rapidity of spread, and fear of residual contagion associated with long-term asymptomatic virus carriers. It is well established that many…
Dietary effects on sow productivity to three parities – Year 2-3 of NPB #12-210
Exploiting the potential of leader proteinase coding sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus to derive attenuated strains suitable for pathogenesis studies and development of improved countermeasures
FMD is the one of the most feared viral diseases that can affect swine. Although this disease appeared to be eliminated from most developed nations by the end of last century, recent outbreaks in Europe, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Eastern…
Evaluation of envelope proteins for rapid induction of protective immune response against classical swine fever
The main objective of this research project was to determine if native and/or modified forms of Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV) proteins present in the surface of the virion were able to induce a rapid and protective immune response against…
Does the inclusion of distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS) in the diet of grow-finish pigs affect their susceptibility to and colonization with Salmonella enterica?
As an alternative to counteract the increased feed costs, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) have been increasingly included in pig diets. Much research has been conducted recently to evaluate growth performance and carcass characteristics associated with feeding DDGS to…