A Review of Swine Breeding Herd Biosecurity in the United States to Prevent Virus Entry Using Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus as a Model Pathogen.

Simple Summary: Maintaining a sustainable supply of animal protein is the mission of the global swine production industry. The entry of infectious pathogens to swine populations can cause significant animal welfare issues, increase the use of antibiotics, challenge environmental stability, and interrupt/reduce the supply of pork; therefore, preventing pathogen entry is critical to achieve its mission using science-based biosecurity programs. Biosecurity is the application of science-based protocols to minimize the risk of pathogen entry. The objective of this review is to summarize basic biosecurity terms and concepts, review the transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and the biosecurity protocols designed to mitigate these risk factors, and discuss how the swine industry is applying Next Generation Biosecurity to prevent PRRSV infection of the breeding herd. The prevention of disease introduction into swine herds requires the practice of science-based protocols of biosecurity that have been validated to reduce the risk of the entry of targeted pathogens. The fundamental pillars of biosecurity include bio-exclusion, biocontainment, and bio-management. Biosecurity protocols must be science-based, a way of life, continuously validated, cost-effective, and benchmarked over time. This paper will review these concepts, the direct and indirect routes of transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and the interventions that have been designed and validated to prevent infection of the breeding herd. It will close with a review of Next Generation Biosecurity, describing how a science-based approach is being used to prevent PRRSV infection in breeding herds from a large commercial pork production system in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]