Introduction: This case study examines a herd with a history of endemic K88 E. coli and Salmonella diarrhea post wean. Signs included acutely: diarrhea and dehydration; subacutely: acute signs plus gradual fat loss; and chronically: muscle loss and rough hair coat. Control is sporadic with both vaccination and medication attempts. Currently Neomycin therapy is used. In an effort to increase treatment efficacy, reduce dependence on antibiotics, and support health and...
Introduction: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic serovars of Leptospira sp. The disease in swine is mainly transmitted by contact with infected urine, blood, tissues, organs, contaminated water and feed. Leptospirosis can be spread by rodents or by direct contact of infected pigs. Clinical symptoms such as abortion, stillbirths and sometimes infertility are the most often observed consequences of Leptospira sp. infection in...
Introduction: Since 2006, Antibiotic growth promotors (AGP) are banned in the EU. Questions are raising in EU as well as in other parts of the world about the effectiveness of alternatives to replace AGPs. Commonly used alternatives in EU are products based on butyric acid. Butyric acid (C4) is a short chain fatty acid (SCFA) with a biological role, consistently present in the intestinal ecosystem, as it is naturally produced by fermentation of polysaccharides by the intestinal...
Introduction: During slaughtering procedure, every animal should be unconscious chiefly to avoid inflicting undue pain during bleeding. Exsanguination without prior stunning is an extremely controversial practice from the standpoint of animal welfare because some animals take a long time to lose brain function. CO 2 stunning can be reversible or irreversible; pigs may recover consciousness before dying, such that the time between stunning and exsanguination is a...
Introduction: It is well known that stomach barrier (acidity) acts against diverse pathogenic agents. This function is particularly influenced by particle size distribution in the diet. Diarrhoea causing E. coli is an agent of relevance in today’s pig production that can lead to weight gains up to high losses. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the ability of a specific pathogenic E. coli to survive stomach passage, in vivo and in vitro...
Introduction: Congenital tremors is a disease of neonatal pigs characterized by action-related repetitive myoclonus. Despite early documentation (nearly 100 years ago) and worldwide distribution of the disease, the etiology of a majority of contemporary outbreaks remains a mystery but has been speculated to be an unidentified virus. This investigation describes the identification of a divergent lineage pestivirus in samples from piglets with congenital tremors and not unaffected...
Introduction: Porcine parvovirus 4 (PPV4) is a representative of the Copiparvovirus genus classified as Ungulate copiparvovirus 2. PPV4 was detected recently in the lung lavage samples of diseased pigs co-infected with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). PPV4 is unique in that its genomic sequence is most closely related to bovine parvovirus 2 classified as Ungulate copiparvovirus 1. The pathogenic nature of PPV4 remains to be determined while it seems that PPV4 is...
Introduction: Parvoviruses are small, non-enveloped icosahedral viruses ubiquitous in different animal species. Porcine parvovirus 3 (PPV3) or according to novel classification Ungulate tetraparvovirus 2 belongs to the Tetraparvovirus genus. PPV3 was found in tissues of healthy and sick pigs. The aim of this study was to detect PPV3, using two in situ methods that target nucleic acids, like in situ hybridization (ISH) and in situ polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR) and to apply...
Introduction: The sterile alpha motif and HD domain 1 (SAMHD1) protein has been identified as a novel innate immunity restriction factor that inhibits HIV-1 infection in myeloid cells, and is a type I interferon (IFN) inducible restriction factor. Previous study showed that overexpression of porcine SAMHD1 efficiently blocked highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) replication in MARC-145 cells, and SAMHD1 is activated in target cells...
Introduction: Swine influenza outbreaks are usually recognized by the sudden appearance of respiratory signs and also by quick recovery of sick animals. However, influenza A virus (IAV) can endemically circulate without causing such typical clinical outbreaks. In addition, the complexity of influenza circulation in large multi-site and multi-source herds has not been well described. The objectives of this study were to describe the dynamics of IAV circulation in...
Introduction: The aetiology of tail biting is highly complex and its appearance in a herd can hardly be predicted. Thus, it becomes extremely important to recognise that tail biting is not a singular symptom. Cases of primary cannibalism are rather rare and need differentiation from cases of tail necrosis without support of other pigs, and from cases of secondary cannibalism as a result of primary necrosis of the tail. The aim of the present study was to show that tail necrosis...
Introduction: Spray dried plasma (SDP) is a specialty protein source used in pig diets due to its beneficial effects on post-weaning performance and survival. Processing of SDP produces a safe product; however, further evaluation of redundant safety steps may be investigated. The objectives were to determine the effect of commercially produced ultraviolet light (UV) treated liquid porcine plasma containing PEDV genome with a special UV system developed for turbid liquids...
INTRODUCTION Mycotoxins are substances that occur naturally in the environment (1, 2). In addition to mycoestrogens such as zearalenone (3, 4), selected trichothecenes, including DON and/or its metabolites (but in vitro), can affect steroidogenesis (2) and changes in gene expression, which suggests that these compounds could disrupt hormonal homeostasis (1). Deoxynivalenol (DON), a polar organic compound produced mainly by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum (5), is...
Introduction: Tail lesions are outcomes of tail biting behaviour and reflective of impaired welfare in pigs. It is possible that tail biting is associated with other behavioural problems such as ear- or flank biting. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential of carcass tail lesions to reflect other behavioural problems on farms and thereby act as an ‘iceberg indicator’ for pig welfare. Materials and Methods: Welfare...
INTRODUCTION Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by different fungal species, Fusarium being responsible for most contamination of feedstuffs in the field. Among more than 400 identified mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) are of most concern for the pig industry. Pigs are very sensitive to both DON and ZEN. When acute dietary exposure occurs, DON can lead to vomiting and feed refusal (1), whereas ZEN has oestrogenic effects (2). However, in practice, acute...
Kimberly VanderWaal (University of Minnesota) comments on the use of sequence data by veterinarians, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Kimberly VanderWaal (University of Minnesota) comments on RFLP types and differentiation of viruses, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) highlights the importance of ventilation maintenance and information, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) explains different aspects of ventilation and its costs, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Chris Parks (Cargill) comments on recent research and the effect of lower levels of mycotoxin in the feed, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....