Effect of vaccination with a porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome subunit vaccine on sow reproductive performance in endemic farms.

The objective of this field study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of sows after vaccination with a porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) subunit vaccine (PRRSFREE PRRS subunit vaccine, Reber Genetics, Taiwan, Republic of China) under field conditions. The study was performed in three farms with endemic infections with both PRRS virus (PRRSV)-1 and PRRSV-2, a situation representative of most Korean farms. Pregnant sows were immunised intramuscularly with 2.0 ml of the PRRS subunit vaccine at 58 and 79 days of gestation (eight and five weeks antepartum) according to the manufacturer's recommendation. Vaccination did not result in any observed adverse reaction. Vaccinated sows exhibited a significant improvement in reproductive performance (reduction of abortions) and litter characteristics (increase of weaned pigs) compared with unvaccinated sows. Vaccinated sows had significantly (P<0.05) higher PRRSV ELISA sample/positive ratio and number of PRRSV-specific interferon-γ-secreting cells compared with the unvaccinated control group. The results of this study demonstrate that the PRRS subunit vaccine can improve the reproductive performance of sows in farms with endemic PRRSV infection.