Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) emerged in the United States in 1987 (Steveson et al., 1993) and a few years later in other countries, with a high prevalence worldwide (Dea et al., 2000). PRRSV is a small enveloped virus  with a 15-kb positive sense RNA composed of nine open reading frame (ORF).The syndrome is characterized by respiratory disease leading to increase mortality in young pigs, respiratory disease leading to decreased performance in adult pigs, and infertility or late-term abortions in sows (Ferrin et al.,2004).

Our study seeks to determine the presence of antibodies to PRRSV in humans exposed to swine.