Winners of the 2016 European PRRS Research Award announced

28-09-2016

Ingelheim, Germany, 21 October 2016 – The winners of the 2016 European PRRS Research Award have been announced at this year’s international swine veterinary assembly by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.

PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) continues to be a highly prevalent disease in European pigs, causing economic losses through its negative effects on reproduction and growth as well as by clinical illness.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health sponsors the €75,000 research award programme in Europe both to encourage further development of practical methods for controlling PRRS and in order to recognise scientific excellence in this field. Furthermore, it offers a valuable opportunity for interaction and academic exchange among swine researchers and veterinary practitioners.

In 2016 the company has sponsored the annual European PRRS Research Award for the third time already. Through this prestigious programme, every year Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health honours three winning research proposals selected by an independent expert panel with a funding of €25,000 each.

The winners of this year’s European PRRS Research Award, as selected by the review board chaired by Dr Michael Murtaugh of the University of Minnesota, USA, are:

• Field study to assess vertical transmission of type 1 strains of PRRS virus using pre-weaning oral fluid samples (Arnaud Lebret, Porc.Spective swine veterinary practice, Brittany, France)
• Assessment of immunological response and clinical protection after single and double PRRSV vaccination in weaning piglets with maternal antibodies in a combined field and experimental study (Anne Brigitte Cay, CODA-CERVA National Reference Laboratories, Brussels, Belgium)
• Genetic programming of porcine memory B cells to enable the isolation of PRRSV-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (Simon Graham, The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Renowned swine health specialists from Europe and the United States participated in the award ceremony, which was held in Prague (Czech Republic). It coincided with the 2016 Europe PRRSpective conference organised by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health at the same venue.

With this latest European PRRS Research Award presentation, Boehringer Ingelheim has again reinforced its commitment to supporting applied research for the improved control of PRRS in Europe and the rest of the world. Including the three awards for this year and over 40 separate PRRS projects honoured so far in the United States, the company has already contributed more than one million euros to funding applied research on this swine disease.

Call for submissions for next year’s European PRRS Research Award will open in February 2017. It will include new arrangements to assist veterinary practitioners wanting to submit a research proposal.