Better numbers, better solutions
Iowa State University doctoral candidate revolutionizes PRRS vaccination protocols.
Cesar Moura is often asked why he has dedicated his entire doctoral degree to studying porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. After all, the disease is not present in pig populations in his native country, Brazil.
“I believe that I learned a lot working with the PRRS virus — surveillance techniques, control and elimination programs, statistical models, immunization strategies, epidemiological methods, biosecurity aspects — that can be applied to many other agents,” Moura says.
Two years into his doctoral program at Iowa State University and after conducting several studies on epidemiological and immunological solutions for PRRS virus control, Moura’s preliminary results have already motivated production systems to reassess and modify their vaccination protocols for PRRS, targeting better return over investment.
Along with his seven-chapter Ph.D. thesis, Moura has been working on five other PRRS projects.
“He has extraordinary ability to ‘connect’ with veterinarians and producers, understanding their needs and proposing solutions to address questions with applied science,” says Daniel Linhares, assistant professor and director of graduate education for the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to his research contributions thus far, the rising star has a relentless dedication to helping the industry control and eliminate one of its most costly swine diseases.
Brazil and beyond
The doctoral candidate grew up in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil. Many of his family members worked with both cows and pigs. However it was his dad (Cesar), an animal scientist, and his Uncle Sandro, a veterinarian, who worked with pigs and furthered Moura’s interest in pork production.
“I always looked up to them, and that’s why I became interested in the swine industry,” Moura says.
In 2008, Moura set off to obtain his veterinary medicine degree at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia in Brazil. During that time, he explored the industry through internships locally and internationally.
From 2009 through 2012, Moura’s internships in Brazil were based at farms near his hometown and veterinary school, where Moura says he gained valuable experience working with different pork production systems.
In 2012, Moura decided to broaden his horizons and came to the U.S. Midwest, to work as a trainee at LB Pork Inc. in Fairmont, Minn. His tasks included performing wean-to-finish chores, loading pigs to market, running the mill, hauling feed and helping with harvesting corn.
“I was there for one year, learning, working and getting to know how pork production was here in the U.S.,” Moura says.
Upon his return to Brazil, he took another job as a trainee at Brasil Foods (BRF), Brazil’s largest pork producer and then finished his veterinary degree, graduating in 2015.
Moura’s first job out of veterinary school was for Agroceres PIC, a company established in 1977 through a joint venture between the Agroceres Group and PIC (Pig Improvement Co.), implanting in Brazil the first genetic nucleus of elite animals.
During his two years at the firm, Moura worked in technical services, focusing on gilt development and reproductive management. While he enjoyed his new career as a veterinary practitioner, Moura says he saw room for improvement.
“When I was in this company, I was working a lot on reproductive consulting on sow farms in Brazil, and I saw the opportunity for improving my analytical thinking and working with numbers,” Moura says.
Need for numbers
He set his sights on returning north for his studies — this time to Iowa — and immediately contacted Linhares, his former boss at Agroceres PIC, who was now based as a professor at ISU. “All the field-applicable studies that were going on here at Iowa State fascinated me and that’s why I decided to come.”
Moura joined the ISU swine medicine team in 2017 to work on his doctorate in population sciences in animal health, and he’s been conducting studies on epidemiological and immunological solutions for PRRS virus control ever since.
His thesis title is the “Effect of PRRSV MLV interventions on performance of growing pigs from endemic sow herds and placed at high pig dense area, under field conditions.”
When completed, the dissertation will include research on the dynamics of PRRS virus infection on vaccinated growing pigs raised in high pig-density areas; the impact of modified live virus mass intervention of sows on growing pig performance; the effect of partial versus full-dose MLV vaccination on growing pig production; the production and economic benefit of two PRRS MLV doses compared to a single-dose vaccination program on growing pigs; and the assessment of the therapeutic effect of piglet MLV vaccination in the face of a PRRS outbreak.
Producers taking note
Preliminary results from some of Moura’s studies have already shown promise, motivating several systems to change or update their vaccination protocols. One example is a single versus double MLV dose program on growing pigs.
“We have seen significant improved results of the double-dose protocol, especially on reducing mortality of pig groups from PRRSV stable and unstable sow farms,” Moura says.
Another example is his work with full PRRS MLV vaccination dose versus partial dose on growing pig populations.