Dominiek Maes

Introduction:Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is one of the primary pathogens involved in the Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex. Breeding sows are responsible for maintaining M. hyopneumoniae infections within the herd and young sows are more likely to transmit the pathogen to their piglets compared to older sows. Additionally, piglet colonization at weaning has been suggested as a predictor of clinical ...

Introduction:The aim of this study was to compare the effect of post-weaning treatment of piglets with zink oxide (ZnO) and colistin on health, production and Escherichia coli shedding.Materials and Methods:During two successive weaning rounds, a randomized control study was performed on three commercial pig herds. In each herd, four groups of weaners were created that either received colistin in ...

Introduction:Previous research showed that one out of three sows produces insufficient colostrum and milk for the offspring. This may lead to reduced piglet performance. The most obvious solution is to increase the colostrum and milk production of the sow. However, optimizing the composition of sow colostrum and milk may also be a valuable preventive measure. Therefore, knowledge of the compositio ...

Introduction:Weaned piglets suffer many stressors such as sudden change of feed, change of pigs groups and passive protection decrease with ageing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the inclusion of a free and buffered organic acids blend (OAs) to drinking water (DW) of weaned pigs on performance in presence or absence of medication to control enteric disease.Materials and Met ...

Introduction: Tail necrosis in neonatal piglets was reported in several conventional pig herds in Belgium. The primary cause remains unclear. Mycotoxins are frequently mentioned to be involved, although a causal relationship has not been established yet. This case-control study aimed to investigate the involvement of feed-mycotoxins on the prevalence of tail necrosis in neonatal piglets.Materials ...

BackgroundThe encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) is a nonenveloped positive single-stranded RNA virus. The EMCV serotype is a member of the Cardioviridae genus of the Picornaviridae family [1]. The virus is very resistant and stable in a wide pH-spectrum. The virus may be inactivated in water with 0.5 ppm chloride, iodine and mercury(II)chloride [2]. Infections with EMCV are demonstrated in multipl ...