Farmscape for November 6, 2012

The Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians reports the establishment of regional area control and elimination projects to fight PRRS has ushered in a new era of open communication among pork producers.
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is considered the most costly animal health issue facing the North America pork industry.
With funding provided by the Canadian Swine Health Board, the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians is taking the lead in coordinating a patchwork of local efforts across Canada aimed at eliminating PRRS.
Dr. Manon St-Hilaire, one of two National PRRS Area Regional Control and Elimination Coordinators, says the most important thing learned so far has been the importance of communication.

Clip-Dr. Manon St-Hilaire-Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians:
In the past every producer worked on their own and kept the information and tried to control the disease on their own.
Now we understand that the disease can be spread by aerosol or by different things we are doing like transport or like entry of materials or different things and the purpose of the ARC and E projects is really to share information between producers and try to avoid PRRS and control PRRS.
I think some producers, at the beginning, had some fear but now I think most of them, when they come onto the project and they realize what it is, I think they better understand the way that the information is shared and the fear just disappears and now they are very willing to share information.
Some producers would like that it go faster and give more information.
Sometimes we feel that we are a little bit not in time.
We don't follow them.
They want to go faster than us.

Dr. St-Hilaire notes PRRS is the most important swine disease in Canada right now and producers would like to, if not eradicate, at least control the virus.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

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