Non-infected hogs can pick up the disease after contacting such contaminated items. Survival is temperature dependent. The virus can survive only a few hours on clean concrete or mixed in dirt. The PRV virus can survive up to three days on plastic and steel. Two days is the virus' survival time in manure and lagoon water.
Whole corn can sustain the virus up to four days.
The PRV virus mixed with body excrement can survive on the soil for up to six days. Under optimal pH and temperature conditions, some virus particles may survive as long as 40 days to 120 days. However, these conditions are unlikely to exist. Improper handling of vaccine, such as exposing it to heat, chemicals, or sunshine, renders the dose useless. Vaccine shot in the air, deposited in fat tissue, or leaked an improper injection is of little or no value.