If the industry aspires to deal with some of today’s disease problems (particularly PRRS), we need to systematically identify the major obstacles and seek the solutions. The feasibility of controlling the complex diseases we face now and into the future will increasingly depend on uptake of improved technology. Air filtration is an example of how technological advances can alter the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of implementing a regional control program.
However the biggest question is not whether new technologies can assist us in the challenge of disease control in the swine industry; it is whether we are ready to embrace them (Davies 2007). In the long term the greatest challenge will be to foster producer participation, which will ultimately determine the usefulness of any initiative to support
regional disease control. Common sense also must be part of the equation. As of today we have plenty of knowledge and understanding on pathogen transmission and how to prevent it, importance of geographical location, and implementation of effective and not “psychological” biosecurity strategies such as air filtration. So let’s use available, sound information and help our producers on the battle against PRRSV and other economically important pathogens; let them be successful and profitable and may the swine industry shine again!