Dr. Erin Lowe is the Technical Manager for the Solutions Team at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) and has been a driving force behind the Area Regional Control (ARC) programs fight against the control of PRRS. The 2016 North American PRRS Symposium was held over the weekend in Chicago and Dr. Lowe took time to share how the ARC programs can use some new research presented.

“ARC programs are a group of producers that are locally organized. They share information about what’s going on with PRRS and implement practices in order to reduce PRRS introduction and spread within the area.”

What was presented during the session was research stating pigs who were vaccinated and exposed to a low level of PRRS were able to still grow and appear as if they were never challenged with PRRS. “That means if we can reduce the amount of PRRS that is in the environment pigs get exposed to, they grow as if it never happened. It’s an important effort in our ARC projects to reduce the volume of PRRS in an area so we can all have better performance.”

Dr. Lowe admits that these research projects are very scientifically intense, but they have really been able to put it into charts and graphics in order to help producers understand the role they play in protecting their farm and the area. Listen to my complete interview with Dr. Lowe here: Interview with Dr. Erin Lowe, BIVI

View and download photos from the event here: 2016 BIVI PRRS Seminar Photo Album