"The infection chain and prevention chain concept really evolved with our battle over PRRS over the last 20 years," said John Waddell, senior professional services veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim. "What we've found is if we don't get all parts of the production chain straightened out then we can't apply good control strategies in the ones that matter the most."

Waddell said they discovered that gilts really do matter, including how they're developed and how they enter the sow farm. And those processes help produce a vaccine-ready pig. The Infection/Prevention Chain is about maximizing the immunity of the pig herd and minimizing transmission from group to group and from the sows to the pigs.

"While this was developed along the lines for PRRS, we've found that it applies to nearly every disease that we face on farms today," he said. "If the producer wants to always have optimally effective vaccines, then they have to get the gilt acclimated and the sow farm right to create a pig that's really ready for a vaccine to maximize that profit at the end. For the producers it means more profit."

John Waddell spoke to ThePigSite's Sarah Mikesell at the 2017 World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.