Porcine reproductive and respiratory disease (PRRS) is an economically important disease around the globe; it has been estimated to cost the swine industry in USA approximately 560 million US dollars annually. It is well established that PRRS is caused by an enveloped, single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). The inability to successfully control PRRS across farms via traditional methods (e.g. vaccine and animal flow) has led to a growing interest in area-based eradication. Important to such an initiative is information on PRRSV transmission within and between herds and intervention strategies to prevent its spread. This paper will review the current literature on selected areas of PRRS known to be important to the topic of pathogen elimination, including etiology, clinical manifestations, direct and indirect routes of transmission, as well as discuss measures for disease control, prevention and eradication.