Month: October 2025

Production impacts of PRRSV-2 1C.5.32 and other variants (1A.2, 1H.18): Call for participants

The University of Minnesota Swine Group is seeking sow farms and grow-finish farms that have recently broken with PRRSV-2 variant 1C.5.32,  variant 1A.2, or 1H.18 to contribute to a research study on PRRSV-2 virulence.  This study addresses the virulence and production impacts of a novel PRRSV-2 variant, denoted as 1C.5.32, which began spreading rapidly in the Midwest in late 2024. We aim to quantify this new variant’s virulence and production impacts in sow farms and nursery-age pigs in comparison to other prevalent variants (1A.2 and 1H.18), and quantify the role of co-infections in shaping PRRSV severity.

Continue reading “Production impacts of PRRSV-2 1C.5.32 and other variants (1A.2, 1H.18): Call for participants”

PRRSV variants under monitoring

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus is a major threat to pig production worldwide. The virus is constantly changing, with new variants appearing every year. Some of these new variants can spread more easily or have a greater impact on your herd’s health and productivity. An example is the emergence of a new PRRSV variant named 1C.5 (previously referred to as L1C 1-4-4, or 1-4-4) in late 2020. In the past, monitoring systems have had a difficulty identifying new variants like this quickly enough to allow for a rapid response, and they often focused on describing epidemics that had already happened.

Continue reading “PRRSV variants under monitoring”

Assessment of PRRSV Trailer Contamination at the Harvest Facility

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

In today’s Science Page, University of Minnesota researchers Lucas Ferreira, Mark Schwartz, Marie Culhane, and Cesar A Corzo share preliminary findings from their study on transport biosecurity.

Continue reading “Assessment of PRRSV Trailer Contamination at the Harvest Facility”

The impact of pooling on the observed microbiome profile of preweaned piglet feces

Today, we are sharing a recent publication from the Noyes lab investigating a very popular sampling technique, pooling and the impact it has on resulting microbiome profiles. The article is available in open access on Microbiology Ecology’s website.

Continue reading “The impact of pooling on the observed microbiome profile of preweaned piglet feces”

Help Piglets Thrive: High-Dose Oxytocin Allows Sows to Pass on Greater Immunity

The following article was written by Jennifer Shike and published in Farm Journal’s magazine, PORK.

Colostrum can be the difference between life and death for a piglet. As litter size increases, colostrum intake becomes even more critical, says Bryn Anderson, a veterinary student at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

Continue reading “Help Piglets Thrive: High-Dose Oxytocin Allows Sows to Pass on Greater Immunity”