Assessment of the economic impact of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus on United States pork producers

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the current annual economic impact of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) on the US swine industry. Materials and methods: Data for the analysis was compiled from the US Department of Agriculture, a survey of swine veterinarians on the incidence and impact of PRRSV, and production records (2005 to 2010) from commercial farms with known PRRSV status. Animal-level economic impact of productivity losses and other costs attributed to PRRSV were estimated using an enterprise budgeting approach and extrapolated to the national level on the basis of the US breeding-herd inventory, number of pigs marketed, and number of pigs imported for growing. Results: The total cost of productivity losses due to PRRSV in the US national breeding and growing-pig herd was estimated at US $664 million annually, an increase from the US $560 million annual cost estimated in 2005. The 2011 study differed most significantly from the 2005 study in the allocation of losses between the breeding and the growing-pig herd. Losses in the breeding herd accounted for 12% of the total cost of PRRSV in the 2005 study, compared to 45% in the current analysis. Implications: Despite over 25 years of experience and research, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome remains a costly disease of pigs in the United States. Since 2005, some progress has been made in dealing with the cost of productivity losses due to the disease in the growing pig, but these were offset by greater losses in the breeding herd.