Another opportunity is being offered for AASV members interested in receiving training on the AASV's PRRS Risk Assessment Tool. The training will take place on Wednesday, November 8 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm in Ames, Iowa, just prior to the Iowa State University Swine Disease Conference (Nov 9 & 10). Successful completion of a training session is required to obtain a copy of the Risk Assessment Tool.
As with anything that we try to manage, we must first be able to measure it. The PRRS Risk Assessment (PRA) Tool is an epidemiological tool developed specifically to measure the risk that a clinical episode of PRRS will occur. A companion database of completed assessments was developed for the purpose of benchmarking and analysis.
Some examples of when the PRA Tool and database of assessments are used include:
1. Deciding to initiate a PRRS elimination project for a specific site
a. How long can the site be expected to stay negative?
b. Research studies using the PRA Tool to address this question are underway.1
2. Benchmarking biosecurity and risk management of PRRS
a. On which areas of risk should attention be focused? Compared to other sites what areas of risk are relatively high for this site or all sites in a production system?
3. Assessing risks associated with a site, or all sites in a production flow, as part of a due diligence process.
There is no cost to AASV members for the training. Enrollment will be limited to 15 veterinarians on a first-come-first-served basis. All participants will receive a CD with a copy of the PRRS Assessment. To reserve a spot please email aasv@aasv.org or call the AASV office at 515-465-5255.
The Risk Assessment is currently an Excel spreadsheet based tool. A web based version is in development and is expected to be ready by mid-2007.
1. Yeske P, et.al. 2006. Proc. 19th IPVS Congress.