Francis E.C Pena

IntroductionDespite increased bio-security measures, pigs are often exposed to chronic sub-clinical level of diseases and climatic (heat) stress in commercial farms, causing a lower feed intake and performance. Differences in health or immune status of the pigs is one of the reasons for the large variation in the performance of pigs between commercial farms (Pastorelli et al., 2012). The optimal l ...

IntroductionIt is necessary to maintain intestinal wall integrity in order to facilitate nutrient digestion and absorption processes. Intestinal morphology can be affected during inflammatory processes(Amador et al., 2007). Weaning is the most critical period in the life of the pig. During weaning, the digestive system of the piglet has to adapt rapidly from milk consumption to a solid diet. Succe ...

Introduction Diseases caused by E. coli have been a recognised problem for as long as pigs have been raised. Early work in the 1960s and 1970s elucidated the pathogenic mechanisms of E. coli causing newborn diarrhea, and lead to the development of maternal vaccines which effectively control this form of the disease. However, maternal vaccination with these vaccines does not pr ...