Unexpected allies in unexpected places 😯🤝

Sometimes, the best solutions for a problem lie in the unexpected! Take antibiotics, for example: who would think that a bacteria-killing tool could be an ally in the fight against a virus? Okay, we'll explain: we all know that the PRRS virus is still a challenging disease and that researchers, scientists, extensionists, and the entire sector are continuously looking for efficient strategies to better manage it. Regardless of how unexpected this may be, an attractive option is using antibiotics!

While PRRS is a virus and antibiotics target bacteria, using antibiotics can be a way of reducing the clinical signs or the performance impacts of the virus, considering that it depresses the immune system. In an episode of the Swine Health Blackbelt, sponsored by Elanco, Dr. Jessica Risser goes into this topic! She discusses a project she worked on that evaluated the use of antibiotics to combat the PRRS virus on a sow farm. Have we got you scratching your head and wanting to learn more? Then check out the episode here.