AUDIO: Joe Roder, Merck Animal Health
A pharmaceutical company helps producers tackle a nasty virus in swine.
Joe Roder serves as director of swine technical services for Merck Animal Health. Roder talks to producers about Porcine Circovirus (PCV) at the 2018 Iowa Pork Congress
?Porcine Circovirus is a disease we?ve known about for a few decades now. It?s a disease that?s ever present and can affect pigs year-round,? Roder said. ?It is a disease that tends to potentiate all other diseases. Influenza or PRRS can be potentiated by having a concurrent infection with circovirus.?
Roder says PCV is one of three economically significant diseases for modern swine protection. PCV can lead to a dramatic increase in mortality, increased cull rates, substantial weight loss and reduced profits.
Roder says prevention is key in combating PCV.
?We need to get ahead of this,? Roder said. ?We have to vaccinate with a good, quality vaccine, we need to follow the instructions on the label and we need to get those animals immunized before they get exposed, so we can minimize or possibly eliminate the risk of infection.?
Swine producers can vaccinate their herd at any production stage: sow or boar, piglet, nursery or finishing. Roder suggests producers talk to their veterinarian to identify when to vaccinate.
Merck Animal Health offers a line of vaccines for Porcine Circovirus, called Circumvent.
?We have Circumvent which is Circovirus by itself. Our most popular product is Circumvent G2 which includes micro-plasma. It gives complete coverage, and is one folks like to use. Our Circumvent line provides producers options. They can give a single dose or two doses, the same product at a lower volume, given in two doses,? Roder said.
Roder says producers choose Circumvent because ?it gives them the protection they need.?
?They can depend on it,? Roder said. ?No vaccine is 100%, but I have found that most producers are conscientious. If you give them a good product and show them how to use it, they?ll do their best. It helps take one thing off the list, they don?t need to worry about it. Producers today have more than enough to worry about.?
