Testimonial of a Veterinarian

"We have been battling with PRRS now for over 20 years. In the early phases (late 1980's) we thought that the clinical course would be easy to control and that the release of a commercial vaccine would solve our problems. The first indicators were that a farm would go positive and then be fine after the acute phase. After the first few years, previously infected farms started to show acute clinical signs again. The research was showing that the virus could, and was, changing. No longer was being positive to PRRS a shield against other strains. The commercial vaccines appeared to be helpful at first but as the virus diverged from its origin they became unpredictable. They have still shown to be beneficial in reducing the losses associated with PRRS breaks in growing pigs but have not been able to adequately prevent the transfer of virus across the placenta in pregnant sows. I believe this is mainly due to the unpredictability of the cross protection.

The path has been littered with attempts to solve the PRRS problem but so far none have satisfactorily done so. I myself initated and used the process of live virus inoculation (LVI) to at least get homologous protection. This process has worked well to stabilize farms but at the risk of bad clinical outcomes. The lack of creating cross protection has always left the farm at risk to the next virus strain.

Now a new generation of potential solutions has emerged. I am excited about the idea of having the ability to create cross protection due to a greater understanding of how the PRRS isolates are immunologically different. Over the years using LVI, I have had experiences that have left me wondering about the immunological differences between PRRS strains not explained by nucleotide sequencing. Dr Kim at MJ Biologics has given me what I feel today is the answer. His research and developement pertaining to immunological groups has given me more detailed information allowing me to explain the failures in LVI protection. This along with Dr Joo's vaccine development will give me the tools and information to create a diverse protection plan for the sow herds. This protection will then provide me the opportunity to consistently create PRRS negative weaned pigs. I am very excited about these new tools and the role they will play in our ability to deal with this devastating disease and keep producers safe from catastrophic losses."

Mark Fitzsimmons, D.V.M.
2006 Swine Practitioner-of-the-Year
Eagle Lake, Minnesota

Testimonial of a Veterinarian

I was made aware of MJ Biologics in late 2006 and I contacted some of the veterinarians who were using the product and decided to try it in my clinic. I service only independent producers who are mainly farrow to finish. PRRS has been a frustrating disease and many herds have several strains that exist within them. The autogenous vaccine route gave only marginal success as cross protection was virtually zero. The MJ system is unique because it provides for a different mechanism to evaluate PRRS viruses and attempt to predict their cross protectivity. I had two vaccines made in 2007 and applied it to 10 farms. All of these farms have had repeated clinical outbreaks in the past. By using the vaccine in herds with a history of PRRSV, we have been able to prevent prenatal losses while stabilizing the herds and simultaneously protecting the sow population against clinical disease outbreaks from 'new' virus strains entering the herd. I have confidence that this technology and this product concept will greatly help to reduce clinical disease and viremic pigs. I will continue to apply the product to more farms as producers inquire about enhancing the protection plan for their herds.

Paul J. Ambrecht, DVM
Lake City Veterinary Service
Lake City, Iowa

Testimonial of a Veterinarian

"In my hands, the PRRS products and technical advice from MJ Biologics have been valuable in a balanced approach to controlling the PRRS virus. MJ’s new grouping system for virus strains has proven itself to be a very useful tool in understanding what is happening in the field in regard to the PRRS virus mutating intra farm and moving from farm to farm.

MJ Biologics’ inactivated subunit PRRS vaccine in combination with biosecurity protocols, pig flow restrictions, sanitation have helped me to stabilize active PRRS sow farms as well as keep stabilized farms quiet.

Sow Farm XX is a 2500 sow farrow-to-wean unit located in a hog dense area of southern Minnesota. This farm has used MJPRRS vaccine for three years very successfully. The young replacement gilts are given live exposure to sero convert them, then given 2 shots of MJPRRS prior to entering the breeding herd. The sow herd is blanket vaccinated 3-4 times a year. Prior to MJ-PRRS, this unit periodically “leaked” PRRS virus to the nursery with subsequent spikes in mortality and morbidity. After the introduction to MJ-PRRS, the unit has not “leaked” virus in the nursery.

During the winter of 2007/2008, the area surrounding this unit experienced widespread clinical problems with the 1-?-2 family of PRRS virus. To date, this unit has remained stable and quiet of clinical signs. For the last quarter of 2007, the farm weaned 25.5 pigs/sow/year and for the first quarter of 2008, they weaned 25.1 pigs/sow/year."

Brian D. Roggow, DVM
Fairmont Veterinary Clinic, LLP

Testimonial of a Producer

"We have been using MJPRRS in our 800 head sow herd since April, 2006. Since that time, we have been giving quarterly shots to our sow herd and two shots to all incoming gilts before entering the breeding barn. There has been no negative effect on the sow herd by vaccinating with the product. Since we have been using MJPRRS, we have been producing the highest quality PCR negative weaner pigs ever in the last 15 years. The vaccine has been working effectively and is very cost-effective.

Our herd was challenged in January, 2008 by the new strain circulating in the upper Midwest and the vaccine worked wonderfully with our farm suffering only a handful of abortions. The neighboring farms not on MJPRRS suffered a huge percentage of abortions and high sow mortality. Our production has risen from 20 pigs per sow per year (PSY) to the current level of 26 PSY since we have been using MJPRRS."

Glenn Sohre, Producer
Good Thunder, Minnesota

Testimonial of a Veterinarian (from 2006)

"In the past, cross-protection between different strains of PRRS has been sporadic and unpredictable. Protection when re-exposed to the same homogeneous virus is more predictable.

I did a series of trials involving pregnant sows, and the results demonstrated partial to full protection when challenged with a wild type PRRS virus. These sows had a history of prior field PRRS virus exposure and multiple doses of killed subunit PRRS vaccine. The challenge PRRS viruses were at least 8% different from what the sows were exposed to previously. Additionally, each challenge virus used had previously been associated with severe clinical disease in non-related herds.

Preliminary data is positive regarding this new PRRS subunit vaccine. Additional trials are planned to confirm these findings. For a more complete summary of these trial results, refer to poster/abstract entitled “Protection against heterologous PRRSV challenge in pregnant sows immunized with multivalent PRRS vaccine1.”

Mark Wagner, D.V.M.
Fairmont Vet Clinic
Fairmont, Minnesota

1. Wagner M., et al. Protection against heterologous PRRSV challenge in pregnant sows immunized with multivalent PRRSV vaccines. In: International PRRS Symposium, 2005 Dec. 2-3; St. Louis, MO.

Testimonial of a Veterinarian (from 2006)

"Farm A is a 3000-sow farrow-to-wean farm located in southern Minnesota in a very swine-dense area. The farm was PRRS-positive, but stable, as of September 1, 2005. Beginning the week of September 24, Farm A developed clinical signs for PRRS including abortions, off-feed animals, early farrowings, and increased stillborns. This continued into mid-October.

Diagnostics and sequencing on piglet and sow inventory confirmed that a new and different strain of PRRS virus had entered this farm.

On October 16, 2005, the decision was made to inject the entire herd with a new autogenous killed PRRS subunit vaccine, produced using Selectigen-MJPRRS technology.

Much to our surprise, within 14 days of vaccination abortions and other clinical signs within the herd had ended. The pigs farrowed from the vaccinated sows began to be born normal and healthy. Weaned pigs from the vaccinated sows were PCR-tested weekly beginning November 1 and continuing through the end of the year, with all groups testing PCR-negative.

Conclusions and Observations:
Using MJPRRS vaccine stopped the clinical outbreak in the 3000-sow herd infected with a new heterologous PRRS strain within about two weeks of vaccination. The vaccination did not have negative effects upon the sow herd.

Using MJPRRS vaccine shortened the time to produce PCR-negative pigs farrowed from positive vaccinated sows down to about three weeks.

The economic impact was further reduced by being able to wean PCR-negative pigs off vaccinated sows in about three weeks, stopping the spread of the virus into the nursery-grower system.

Farm B is a 350 sow farrow-to-finish unit located near Truman, Minnesota. The unit was PRRS positive but stable through the end of November 2005. Beginning the week of December 4, 2005, the unit started to have abortions, sows off-feed, early farrowings, and increased pre-weaning mortality.

Diagnostics of sows and piglets confirmed active PRRS. The sequencing of the virus later established an 11% difference from the strains that the farm had experienced previously.

The total inventory of sows and gilts were given a shot of MJPRRS, a new autogenous killed PRRS vaccine. A booster shot was given to the sow herd three weeks after the initial vaccination.

Abortions and clinical signs within the sow herd ended within 14 days of the vaccination. The weaning of healthy baby pigs started about 10 days later. The pigs tested PRRS-negative at weaning time.

Conclusions and Observations:
The new vaccine stopped the clinical outbreak in this herd challenged by a heterologous PRRS virus in about two weeks.

The new vaccine shortened the normal time it takes to produce PCR-negative pigs in a chronic outbreak of the virus.

Maternal antibodies from the vaccinated sows extended the time of seroconversion in the weaned pigs to a weight of about 45-50 pounds. At the time of conversion, the pigs in the grower didn’t experience the normal clinical signs or elevated death loss associated with PRRS in the past.

The economic impact of the chronic break was greatly reduced due to the small number of abortions and the large number of baby pigs born PCR-negative within a short period of time."

Brian Roggow, D.V.M.
Fairmont Vet Clinic
Fairmont, Minnesota

Testimonial of a Producer (from 2006)

"Our farm is a 2000-sow farrow-to-finish farm located in southern Minnesota. Our farm utilizes internal gilt multiplication, off-site finishing, and an on-site feed mill. The farm had been PRRS-positive but stable since 2002.

In late October 2005, weaned piglets began showing symptoms of PRRS, including a significant number of dead and unthrifty nursery pigs.

In January 2006, clinical signs of PRRS began surfacing in the sow unit, including abortions and unthrifty piglets. Weaned piglets were diagnosed positive for 1-8-4 strain of PRRS. Following the positive diagnosis, MJPRRS killed PRRS vaccine was administered in multi-doses to gilts and gestating sows with no negative effect.

Within two weeks of receiving MJPRRS vaccine, sow abortions all but ended. The sows started to farrow healthy, normal pigs that tested PCR-negative for PRRS about a week later. Since adding MJPRRS vaccine to our units’ PRRS-management strategy, the death loss and quality of nursery pigs have also significantly improved."

John Vaubel
Mapleton, Minnesota