News – Swine in Minnesota

2028 IPVS Congress location changing; Minneapolis will now host in 2030

The organizing committee for the 2028 International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) is postponing the organization of the event in Minneapolis. While Minneapolis was originally selected as the host city, the committee determined that shifting the U.S. hosting opportunity to 2030 would better accommodate the needs of all attendees.

The IPVS Board is working on securing a new host country for the 2028 event and will announce its selection at the upcoming 2026 Congress, set for June 16–19 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

What you need to know about pseudorabies

By the University of Minnesota Swine Group

The reporting on April 30, 2026 of pigs positive to pseudorabies in Iowa and Texas is a good reminder that we cannot be complacent when it comes to infectious diseases.

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) causes a devastating clinical picture resembling rabies in young pigs, thus the name. This disease, also known as Aujeszky’s disease, is most severe in piglets, causing high mortality as well as tremors, seizures, paralysis, incoordination and “dog-sitting” signs. As they get older, infected pigs experience respiratory disease with fever, coughing, and pneumonia. In sows, PRV causes abortions and stillbirths and in boars the virus can be shed in semen. PRV transmits primarily by direct contact with secretions of infected pigs but other routes such as exposure to contaminated fomites or aerosols can lead to infection.

Phylogenetic Lineages of Canadian PRRSV-2 Reveal Transboundary Spread and Two Novel Sub-Lineages

Today we are sharing a recent publication from the VanderWaal lab looking at PRRSV sequences from Canada. The full publication is available in open access on the journal Pathogens’ website.

Stopping the next outbreak: Identifying airborne swine viruses

A single particle of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is about 1,000 times smaller than the width of a strand of hair. It’s easy for the microscopic germs to move undetected through vast amounts of air, meaning costly viruses that infect swine are exceedingly difficult to detect.

PRRSV alone costs United States producers around $1.2 billion every year. Several swine diseases—including the influenza virus—can also transmit to humans.

Less Invasive Sampling Methods for PRRSV Detection in Exposed Gilts

Today, we are sharing a very recent publication from Dr. Mariana Kikuti in collaboration with the MSHMP team. Their project looked at the sensitivity of blood-soaked filter papers, blood-soaked swabs, oral swabs and tonsil oral scrubbings when compared to serum samples to detect PRRSV. The full manuscript is available in open-access on the journal’s website.