Fighting a harmful virus that affects pigs has gotten easier with research from Kansas state university. K-State research shows a new vaccine on the market works to prevent a special strain of a virus found first in Kansas.

Keeping pigs healthy is a challenge for some farmers across the country because of a disease called porcine circovirus.

"It does increase mortality in the herd and your first indication there is a problem, is pigs do not gain weight as fast and sometimes you see pigs wasting, wasting away," says Dr. Bob Rowland, KSU Associate Professor of Diagnostic Medicine & Pathology.

When a new strain of the virus showed up in Kansas last year, K-State received funding from the National Pork Board to test a vaccine. Now a year later, lab and field work with pigs shows the Porcine Circovirus Vaccine is safe and effective against the new strain in Kansas.

"The vaccine is quite remarkable and I think holds a lot of promise to producers," says Dr. Rowland.

Good news for swine farmers because it's a virus that can break the bank. The disease hits farmers hard because it doesn't affect little piglets but pigs in their prime.

"If you lose a young pig that's not such an economic impact, as opposed to investing a lot of resources, feed and care into a pig, and having it drop out late in production," says Dr. Rowland.

A problem the estimated 2 million pigs in Kansas can now worry a little less about.

Farmers interested in the vaccine should talk with their veterinarian. It's available now, but demand has made it tough to get. However the vaccine producer has said more should be available in the next few months.