Improved health and stability in your production, lower use of antibiotics and improved welfare. Those are the expected benefits of the Danish national strategy to reduce the number of PRRS positive herds.
We need a coordinated effort to succeed in eradicating Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in pig production. PRRS is one of the most economically damaging diseases for pig herds because of the reduction in production efficiency and reproduction. In Denmark, a national strategy with the goal to achieve a significant reduction in PRRS-infected herds has been launched. DanBred’s Research & Development department, Danish Agriculture & Food Council, is in charge of organising and initiating the local strategy in Denmark to reduce the number of PRRS positive herds, in collaboration with SEGES Innovation. The strategy was implemented in May 2022.
The national PRRS strategy ensures that DanBred’s breeding nucleus continues to be produced in one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to monitoring and securing health and biosecurity in pigs.
Increasing awareness
One of the first steps towards reduction is increasing the individual herds’ awareness of their own PRRS status. Right now, 82 % of herds in Denmark know their PRRS status. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has adopted a legislation saying that by 1 October 2023, every herd in Denmark should know their PRRS status.
The Danish SPF Health Department keeps track of the health status of all Danish herds. A cornerstone of the Danish SPF-system is the principle that herds publicly declare their health status. This is a unique and successful system – and a good foundation for the national strategy to reduce PRRS. The Danish approach to PRRS reduction is based on how our SPF-system works, i.e., the Danish pig herds know and declare their PRRS status; and this is crucial knowledge if regional eradication initiatives are to succeed.
National coordination
To succeed in reducing PRRS in production, it is important that the efforts to eradicate the disease at the individual herd are coordinated with the nearby herds. In Denmark, the national strategy is to divide the country into several smaller geographic areas with appointed consultants with local knowledge as well as veterinarians with customers in the given area.
Denmark has been divided into 58 smaller geographic areas (each area covers approx. 100 pig herds). Each geographic area has an appointed consultant who – together with local veterinarians – ensures the PRRS reduction initiatives are coordinated and implemented in the herds.
Figure 1: Administrative levels in Denmark
Illustration of the administrative levels in the PRRS strategy. By Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
Improved health when buying pigs from Denmark
The final step is eradication in all infected herds. The purpose of the Danish PRRS strategy is to improve health in Danish pig herds and avoid fluctuations in production due to PRRS outbreaks.
According to trials by SEGES Innovation, herds that are free of PRRS experience a lower use of antibiotics, higher survival among piglets and weaner pigs, and a higher economic profit. This means that the use of antibiotics will hopefully also decrease, just like the overall welfare will improve. An effect of successful PRRS eradication is a further decrease in the use of antibiotics, along with an expected improvement of overall welfare.
”It requires a committed and targeted effort to reduce the occurrence of PRRS in Denmark, and the effort can lift both health and animal welfare in the stables, and thus, also improve the farmer’s economy. That’s why I’m extremely pleased that all parties have been involved in drawing up the national action plan and are supporting it,” says Christian Fink Hansen, Director of Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Sector for Pigs.
Figure 2: The goals for Denmark’s national strategy
Illustration inspired by Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
When buying DanBred animals, you also benefit from Denmark’s national strategy to reduce PRRS in pig production. The strategy ensures that DanBred’s breeding nucleus continues to be produced in one of the world’s leading countries within health and biosecurity. Avoiding PRRS in your herd will improve stability in your production as well as general animal health and welfare – and consequently, improve your economy.
