Abstract
BackgroundControl of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) represents a tremendous challenge. The trend is now toward managing the disease collectively. In Quebec, area and regional control and elimination (ARC&E) initiatives started in 2011; diagnostic testing, including ORF5 sequencing, and sharing of information among stakeholders are largely promoted. At the provincial level, a data-sharing agreement was signed by Quebec swine practitioners allowing PRRS virus (PRRSV) sequences to be transferred to a database maintained by the Laboratoire d’épidémiologie et de médecine porcine (LEMP-DB). Several interactive tools were developed and are available to veterinarians to allow comparison of PRRSV ORF5 sequences within ARC&E projects or provincially while managing confidentiality issues.ResultsBetween January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2018, 4346 PRRSV ORF5 sequences were gathered into the LEMP-DB, involving 1254 sites and 43 practicing veterinarians. Approximately 34% of the submissions were from ARC&E projects. Using a novel web-based sequence comparison tool, each veterinarian has access to information on his/her client sequences and can compare each sequence with 1) commercial vaccine strains, 2) historical samples from the same site, and 3) all sequences submitted to the database over the last 4 years. Newly introduced PRRSV into breeding herds can be monitored using a new sequence comparison tool based on comparison of sequences at the provincial level. Each month, graphs providing the number of introductions per month and the yearly cumulative are updated. Between August 1st 2014 and December 31st 2018, 233 introductions were detected on 180 different breeding sites. Following a data-sharing agreement, veterinarians involved in ARC&E projects have access to an interactive mapping tool to locate pig sites, compare sequence similarity between participating sites and visualize the results on the map.ConclusionsThe structure developed in Quebec to collect, analyse and share sequencing data was efficient to provide useful information to the swine industry at both provincial and regional levels while dealing with confidentiality issues.
Highlights
Control of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) represents a tremendous challenge
Since reintroductions of a new strain in a herd are frequent after PRRS virus (PRRSV) herd elimination process, the trend is toward managing the disease collectively by implementing area and regional control and elimination (ARC&E) initiatives [11]
Collection and management of data Since 2010, PRRSV ORF5 sequences and information from samples submitted by veterinarians either to the diagnostic laboratory of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM) of the Université de Montréal or to other private laboratories from the province of Quebec were transferred upon request from the laboratories and included into the Laboratoire d’épidémiologie et de médecine porcine (LEMP) database (LEMP-DB)
Summary
Control of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) represents a tremendous challenge. In Quebec, area and regional control and elimination (ARC&E) initiatives started in 2011; diagnostic testing, including ORF5 sequencing, and sharing of information among stakeholders are largely promoted. Since reintroductions of a new strain in a herd are frequent after PRRSV herd elimination process, the trend is toward managing the disease collectively by implementing area and regional control and elimination (ARC&E) initiatives [11]. In Quebec, ARC&E projects have started in 2011 with eight active projects as of December 2018 [14] They each include between 35 and 300 production sites and are either located in high or low pig density area. The actions implemented vary according to the ARC&E They can include increasing external biosecurity, limiting voluntary gilt exposure with herd wild-type strain, vaccinating breeding herds and avoiding introduction of weaners and finishers from outside the zone. In several projects the use of diagnostic testing for PRRSV has increased by requesting sequencing in resurgence of clinical signs or by sampling systematically and periodically herds in absence of clinical signs (e.g. two to four times a year depending on production type and location of the farm)
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