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The PRRS Risk Assessment Tool for the Breeding Herd is a Web-based program veterinarians use to separate important from not-so-important factors that may predispose a farm to a higher probability of clinical PRRS.

Factors are listed on the tool’s database, which was gifted by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) to the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) in 2005. BIVI’s Dale Polson, DVM, led the team responsible for the original risk assessment approach. Financial support for the program is provided by the National Pork Board and USDA/APHIS. The Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine administers the database.

Risk factors in the assessment tool are organized into categories as external risks (risks associated with introduction of a new, nonresident PRRS virus into a swine population) or internal risks (risks associated with existing, resident virus circulating within the hog population).

Through May of this year, 1,135 assessments from 851 production sites have been submitted for the database by 165 veterinarians trained to use the newest version.

The online survey to assess breeding herd risk takes about an hour to complete and features a list of 155 questions or factors.

Once the assessment is completed, the Web-based application allows veterinarians to immediately view risk benchmarking reports. Veterinarians also can create and send links to reports to clients or production personnel for viewing or printing. A time-saving feature allows completion of multiple assessments simultaneously, particularly useful when assessing multiple sites within the same production system.

Derald Holtkamp, DVM, an Iowa State assistant professor and program manager, said similar assessment programs are planned for other diseases. AASV created the Production Animal Disease Risk Assessment Program, or PADRAP, to help utilize the risk assessment and benchmarking.

An AASV-appointed committee is providing advice and oversight for the program, said Holtkamp. Plans are underway to develop PRRS risk assessments for growing pigs and boar studs, which also would be offered through the Web application.

“Results of the surveys offer a tremendous amount of data that is beneficial for researchers,” noted Holtkamp. “It’s almost daunting.”

Holtkamp is working with a graduate student in statistics to look at associations between risk factors and the number of reported PRRS breaks over the last three years.

The database will really be beneficial for epidemiology studies, he added, comparing it to the Framingham heart study, which still is yielding risk factors for heart disease more than half a century later.

Not surprisingly, the biggest difference so far between negative/naïve sites and positive sites is related to density of pig farms near the site, said Holtkamp. Transportation of feed, employee and service vehicles, disposal of dead animals, waste management, and distance to pork industry infrastructure are other areas evaluated by the risk assessment.

In the PowerPoint presentation Holtkamp uses to train newcomers to the program, he lists the following ways swine practitioners have applied PRRS Risk Assessment:

• As a tool to evaluate current biosecurity protocols and/or to develop new protocols.
• Demonstrate improvement in biosecurity over time.
• Aid in decisions to initiate projects to eliminate PRRS from the breeding herd.
• Aid in decision to use breeding herd site to produce genetic animals.
• As part of the due diligence process for purchases or contracting agreements.

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians offers the tool free to members, but does require completion of the training program. Online training sessions for the Web-based application also are planned for veterinarians who have attended an AASVsponsored training session.