Disease management and diagnostics are not separate disciplines but complementary components of a single decision-making system, says Daniel Linhares, Roy A. Schultz Professor in Swine Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University.
“Sustained industry progress on swine health and productivity will depend on maintaining strong linkages between ongoing, real-time data generation, analysis and action,” Linhares explained at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Annual Meeting on March 1. “By integrating diagnostics, outbreak data and productivity indi¬cators, veterinarians can quantify progress, justify interventions and communicate value to producers.”
Angie Supple, DVM, Eichelberger Farms, encouraged production systems to be more collaborative.
“Historically, we’ve wanted to keep things secret or not admit where we have struggles,” Supple says. “But this [PRRS] virus is so smart. If we don’t collaborate, we are going to be behind.”
No system operates in isolation, Linhares says. Regional collaboration magnifies the effect of individual biosecurity and diagnostic investments.
Here are a few key takeaways from the Applied Solutions for Swine Disease Management and Diagnostics session at the 2026 American Association of Swine Veterinarians Annual Meeting.
“Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) control decisions are not purely biologic – they are system decisions. We don’t choose interventions based solely on severity. We choose them based on severity + goal + historical status.” – Brooke Kitting, VMD, Seaboard Foods
“Internal herd management alone doesn’t determine outcomes. External exposure risk matters. We need to understand not only what’s inside our system, but what’s happening around us to complete the full picture.” – Angie Supple, DVM, Eichelberger Farms
“Despite advances in biosecurity and vaccination, outbreaks persist due to frequent virus reintroduction and inadequate regional control programs. Industry initiatives such as the PRRS Outbreak Management Program (POMP) and Epidemic Cyberinfrastructure (EPIC) have improved monitoring and benchmarking capabilities, enabling veterinarians to make informed decisions based on aggregated diagnostic and production data. Additionally, recent causal inference analyses have showcased the value in various management practices in a field environment settings during lateral breaks.” – Tyler Bauman, DVM, The Maschhoffs
“PRRS virus spillover to breeding herds in not a rare event, accounting for about 40% of the documented outbreaks in our study. This highlights the importance of rapid information sharing and coordinated responses within production systems following a break.” – Isadora Coelho, DVM, Iowa State University
“Know the herd you are working with and the local area. Use the databases to access local risk. Tools are designed as an early warning system. Look at patterns of spread to help with prediction.” – Paul Yeske, DVM, Swine Vet Center
“Artificial intelligence enables uncertainty-aware predictions and explainable alerts, providing veterinarians with interpretable insights rather than opaque black-box results.” – Luc Dufresne, DVM, Swine Veterinary Partners
“Biosecurity is most effective when it’s established as a culture within a system, but protocols can be enhanced during times of high pressure. Regional awareness allows increased transport sanitation, tighter control around routes, enhanced entry protocols, increased testing and auditing.” – Angie Supple, DVM, Eichelberger Farms
