KSU researcher protects pigs against PRRS during reproductionDecember 1, 2017 Raymond "Bob" Rowland, Ph.D., professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has created a way to protect swine offspring from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus during pregnancy. Rowland has found that mothers without the CD163 protein are resistant to the PRRS virus and give birth to healthy, normal piglets. The work appears in Nature's Scientific Reports. "We have created a protective shell against the PRRS virus during the reproductive phase of production," Rowland said. "The offspring does not become infected during pregnancy and is born a healthy piglet. During this critical phase of production, we have essentially ended a disease." The PRRS virus causes disease in two forms: a respiratory form that weakens young pigs' ability to breathe and a more severe reproductive form that causes mass deaths in pigs during late pregnancy. "The reproductive form not only has a tremendous economic impact, but also a psychological impact on people who work with pigs," said Rowland, who has spent more than 20 years studying the PRRS virus. "When we look at ways to control this disease, it really begins with reproduction. We want to keep this …
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Kansas vet college to provide assessment service for feedlotsMay 25, 2016The Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently reported that its beef production medicine group is collaborating with the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Beef Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to offer a free Beef Quality Assurance feedlot assessment service.
