What began in 2003 as the North American PRRS Symposium has grown in size and focus. The 2023 NAPRRS/NC229 International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases, hosted and organized by the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, now covers new emerging and transboundary swine viral disease along with the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. The conference wrapped up its 20th anniversary celebration with a special banquet, keynote talk and awards ceremony.

Held Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, the premier conference for addressing viral disease threats facing pork production brought more than 150 participants to Chicago. Within the global swine disease research community, this conference holds a special place by focusing on basic research, diagnostics and disease control in the field.

See National Hog Farmer/Feedstuffs coverage of the event here:

Attendees include students and professionals from research, academic, government and industry settings as well as veterinarians and pork producers. The meeting featured five plenary scientific sessions, a biosecurity session co-organized with the Swine Health Information Center, and special lunch sessions co-organized with Zoetis and other industry sponsors on modern technologies and translational research.

Again this year, Ying Fang and Raymond (Bob) Rowland, both from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, served as executive director and advisor, respectively, of the conference. The organizing committee members include swine disease scientific/extension experts and industry professionals from around the world.

The conference joint scientific committee was co-chaired by Scott Kenney of The Ohio State University and Roman Pogranichniy of Kansas State University. The full proceedings of the conference are available online.

Special recognition

Two industry leaders who retired in 2023 were recognized with awards at the conference’s closing banquet.

Scott Dee was honored for distinguished research and service to U.S. pork industry. He has been awarded more than $12.5 million in research funding throughout his 36-year career. He was the first to publish data proving that porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and African swine fever virus can be transmitted via feed. His research has led to the development and implementation of biosecurity protocols for managing the importation of feed and feed ingredients, which has resulted in positive economic changes within commercial swine production.

Paul Sundberg was honored for his outstanding leadership, dedication and contribution to swine health. A globally recognized expert in swine health, Sundberg spent the past 30 years in national leadership roles, including director of veterinary issues at the National Pork Producers Council, vice president of science and technology for the National Pork Board and SHIC executive director. He championed the strategy of providing funding to swine disease researchers to address emerging disease concerns within the pork industry.

Conference sponsors

The conference received sponsorship from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, its Department of Pathobiology, and its Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory; David Benfield; Boehringer Ingelheim; Central States Research Centre, Inc.; Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory; Millipore Sigma; PIC; Promega; SHIC; Tetracore; USDA; and Zoetis.

“We deeply appreciate the generous donations from our sponsors, who are essential for the success of this meeting,” said Fang.

Student award winners

Six students received NAPRRS/NC229 ICSVD David Benfield Awards for their research presentations.

Oral presentation awards

1st Place: Jessica Caroline Gomes Noll, Characterization of the Biological Function of African Swine Fever Virus p30/p32 Protein, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

2nd Place: Nakarin Parmornchainavakul, Predicting PRRSV-2 Variant Emergence: Insights from a Decade of Genomic Analysis, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN

3rd Place: Julia Baker, Repeat Offenders: Understanding PRRSV Clinical Rebreaks, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN

Poster presentation awards

1st Place: Carolyn Lee, Evaluation of Multiple Immune Parameters Following Vaccination with an ASFV Multiepitope Protein Nanoparticle-based Subunit vaccine, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH

2nd Place: Kaylyn Rudy, Elevated PRRSV Viral Load in Critical Non-lymphoid Tissues is Associated with Late Gestation Fetal Compromise, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

3rd Place: Michelle Steyn, Investigating the Role of Mechanism of Host Cell Death in PRRSV Infection, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD

In addition, travel awards were granted to 17 students to attend the conference: