For the ninth time, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has funded independent European research projects related to Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) infection and associated diseases. Over the past nine years, 26 research projects have been awarded with EUR25,000 (US$27,767.50) each accumulating to EUR650,00 (US$72,195.50) in total.
More than 30 European scientists joined the recent award ceremony, which took place at the Ghent University in Belgium. The 2015 European PCV2 research awards were granted to the laureates by the head of the review board, Professor Maurice Pensaert, former head of the Laboratory of Virology of Ghent University in Belgium. The independent review board selected the following projects to be funded:
- “Starting the infection chain” - PCV2-infection status of new-born piglets on endemically infected farms (Tijs Tobias, Lucia Dieste Pérez, Arie van Nes, Cees van Maanen, Tom Duinhof, The Netherlands)
- Infection dynamics of PCV2 in different stages of pig production (Matthias Eddicks and Robert Fux, Germany)
- Degree of replication in lymphoblasts and lysis in monocytic cells of PCV2 in different pig breeds, the basis for selection towards less susceptible pigs (Ruifang Wei, Belgium)
At the PCV2 Award Ceremony, the winners presented an outline of their independent research projects while Bernd Grosse Liesner (Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health) shared new scientific findings on the benefits of the compatible vaccination of piglets and sows against PCV2.
In addition, previous award winners shared preliminary results of their projects funded through the European PCV2 research awards:
- Dirk Werling (UK): Prevention of initial replication of PCV2 by vaccination with Ingelvac CircoFLEX
- Armin Saalmüller (Austria): Simultaneous application of Ingelvac CircoFLEX and Ingelvac PRRSV MLV improves the efficacy of PRRSV vaccination
- Nicolas Rose (France): Assessment of the impact of PCV2 infection on hepatitis E virus shedding in experimentally co-infected SPF pigs
Boehringer Ingelheim continuously supports independent applied research in the field of PCV2 immunity, pathogenesis, epidemiology and interaction with other (potential) pathogens. The European PCV2 Research Award is an annual award that recognizes research proposals in this area of applied PCV2 research. An independent review board with leading European scientists in applied porcine research reviews the entries and decides upon the winning proposals. A maximum of three prizes, each worth EUR25,000, are granted to European researchers every year, in order to advance scientific knowledge in the area of PCV2 research.
