Natural disease challenge model vital for improving pig health

Beginning in 2015 researchers from around North America, in collaboration with PigGen Canada and the Centre de développement du porc du Québec (CDPQ), established a natural disease challenge model (NDCM) at a typical wean-to-finish pig barn in Deschambault, Québec. To do this, they “seeded” the pigs with multiple diseases that are problematic in commercial swine barns, including porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRS virus), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, influenza A virus, and others. As each batch of new pigs comes in, they are exposed to the diseases, and the infection naturally continues. Harding is part of a dedicated veterinary operations committee that meets weekly and makes decisions on how to strategically sustain infection at a level sufficient to maintain spread while not sacrificing animal welfare.