Back in 2007,debates within the European PRRS community prompted the need for the development of an effective entity to understand and control PRRS at European level.Since 1992,PRRS research in Europe has been fragmented and operated via national research programs.Such programs lacked wider vision and were inefficient due to the international nature of the disease.Furthermore,a gap existed between national teams developing strategies to combat PRRS disease solely based on vaccine development and those that exploited host genetics.