Tuesday’s announcement of a health-enhanced pig able to resist Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus is a “critical scientific breakthrough in hog farmers’ battles against the disease and is a real game changer for the pork industry,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said in a statement. PRRSv is an incurable viral disease that causes reproductive failure in sows, reduces growth of young pigs and causes premature death in piglets. It also annually causes an estimated $664 million in lost productivity.
 
“Being able to fight this disease through advanced genetic technologies will mean healthier animals, more efficient food production and more efficient risk management options for producers,” Stallman said.
 
Animal genetics company Genus developed PRRSv-resistant pigs in collaboration with the University of Missouri. Using precise gene editing, scientists bred pigs that do not produce a specific protein necessary for the virus to spread in the animals. They are expected to be available to farmers in about five years.
 
The Pig Site article