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Swine health
Pig diseases can be caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, nutritional deficiencies, poisonous substances, internal and external parasites.
Bacterial diseases include swine erysipelas, swine dysentery, infectious poly-arthritis etc. Viral and mycoplasma diseases include African swine fever, swine influenza, enzootic pneumonia of pigs, vesicular exanthema of swine, transmissible gastroenteritis etc. Helminthiasis as a health problem in pigs is mainly caused by worms like the lungworm, ascaris worm etc. Nutritional diseases include piglet anemia, parakeratosis etc. External parasitic infections include mange, lice, jiggers etc.
How to tell that a pig is in bad health:
General signs: dullness, loss of appetite, labored or rapid breathing, sudden deaths, loss of weight, low weight gain and fever usually manifested by shivering of the pig.
Signs expressed on the skin: reddening of the skin or skin discoloration, loss of hair and hardening of some parts of the skin, itching and cracking of the skin.
Other signs: lameness, cough, abnormal nasal discharges, diarrhea with a putrid smell, abnormal content and color of feces and abortions.
ABSTRACT Birth to weaning is a high-risk period for piglets. The present paper reports the efficacy of supplementing the sows diet with Stimune® (specific fatty acids) to increase the survival of piglets by enriching the colostrum and stimulating the immune system of piglets. A trial involving 70 sows and their offspring compared two groups : a control group without marine fatty acids and a group supplemented with 50 g/day/sow (top...
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Argentinian authorities announced a national animal health alert as the influenza A (H1N1) virus had been detected on a second pig farm in the Buenos Aires province, Reuters reports.
"A state of alert doesn't mean there's high risk. It just means that the virus could appear in another farm,", commented Jorge Dillon, director of Senasa, the service for animal health and food safety in Argentina.
"This virus has pretty mild symptoms in pigs, and of course,...
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Parasites have been a problem for livestock producers for as long as there has been livestock. These parasites can cause economic loss to the producer in many ways including: decrease feed efficiency, increase time to market, and decrease carcass value. With modern swine rearing techniques, the emphasis on swine parasites has shifted toward three internal parasites and one external one. The internal parasites include the large roundworm (Ascaris suum), the whipworm (Trichuris suis), and the...
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As modern swine production has evolved the industry has utilized both technological and scientific advancements, as well as adapting new management systems to successfully eradicate and control many diseases. However, even with these advances, swine producers and veterinarians are still continuously being challenged by disease and poor performance. One disease that seems to have evolved with modern swine production is respiratory disease. Now, more than ever,...
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Piglet coccidiosis is caused by a protozoan parasite called Isospora suis. Although Eimeria debliecki has been known to cause clinical disease in piglets, it seems that the only important pathogenic species known to cause clinical disease in piglets is Isospora suis. This disease is very hard to eradicate and is commonly found on pig farms. ...
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Free radicals cause problems and can affect the pig's immune system and subsequent performance. Antioxidants can ‘mop-up' these free radicals. Thanks to recent research and advancements in nutrition, a finely-tuned ‘team' of carefully balanced antioxidants can protect the pig from the damaging effects of free radicals and can help enhance fertility, immunity and growth rates. The production of free radicals is an inevitable result of...
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Porcine Intestinal Adenomatosus (PIA), or more commonly known as pig ileitis, comprises a disease complex with a group of conditions involving pathological changes in the small intestine associated with the intracellular bacterium Lawsonia intracellularis. The organism affects the mucosal epithelium of the small intestine, mostly the ileum and sometimes even the colon, causing hypertrophy with or without haemorrhage. The disease affects grower and finisher...
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The effects of H1N1 swine flu have been investigated in a group of piglets. Scientists writing in BioMed Central's open access Virology Journal studied the pathology of the virus, finding that all infected animals showed flu-like symptoms between one and four days after infection and were shedding virus two days after infection.
Roongroje Thanawongnuwech led a team of researchers from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, who infected 22-day old pigs with both the H1N1 strain...
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PrimerDesign Ltd, a UK firm founded by University of Southampton scientists, has won the race to produce the first DNA test kit for the Mexican swine flu.
The first shipment of rapid-results tests has been sent today directly to Mexico as well as many other territories to help authorities monitor the increasing number of suspected cases.
Project coordinator Dr Rob Powell said: "This past Sunday at midnight was a very special moment for us. We were able to show...
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Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer reports a novel H1N1 strain of Influenza A appears no more severe than typical strains of flu but action to avoid spreading the infection remains important.
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 Flu Virus in Canada now stands at 165.
Dr. Joel Kettner says it's too early to draw conclusions but, with each passing day, it's looking more as if this novel strain is not as severe as some had feared.
He says...
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Understanding lameness means that we need to understand what happens to the sow after a lameness event starts. Deen recently followed 700 sows entering the farrowing crate. Each sow was evaluated for lameness and compared the subsequent performance for the year.
They found that sows were culled at a higher rate if they were lame. This is often recorded in the records as the proportion of sows that are culled due to lameness. They also found that sows were not culled due to lameness,...
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Birth to weaning is a high-risk period for piglets. The present paper reports the efficacy of supplementing the sows diet with Stimune® (specific fatty acids) to increase the survival of piglets by enriching the colostrum and stimulating the immune system of piglets. A trial involving 70 sows and their offspring compared two groups : a control group without marine fatty acids and a group supplemented with 50 g/day/sow (top feeding) for the 15 days before farrowing and during the first 15...
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Haematomas [hematomas] of the ear in pigs cause discomfort in swine and are a chronic problem in many swine units. If left untreated, a haematoma will usually resolve by itself; however, this may take several weeks and cause discomfort for the pig. Ear haematomas result from various traumas. Pigs may develop these haematomas from shaking their heads because of irritants in the external ear canal, such as mange, or because of inner ear infections. Haematomas also commonly result from injuries...
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Editor's Note: Dr. Scott Dee of the Swine Disease Eradication Center, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine was invited to deliver a lecture at the AD Leman Conference, "The future of PRRS in North America: What will the next decade bring"? Dr. Dee's expertise in PRRS research positions him well to comment on this important topic.
I appreciate the opportunity to present my vision of the future of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) in North...
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Lice may often go unrecognized in a swine herd, even though these parasites are widely distributed among herds in the United States. Lice infestation is often not considered a serious problem, but it may lead to economic losses for the producer. It is important for the producer to watch for signs of lice infestation and to be able to recognize these parasites on swine.
About the...
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The Taipei-based Swine Association strongly urged the government Saturday not to vaccinate the country's pigs against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) , despite outbreaks of the disease in central Taiwan earlier this month.
The practice of vaccinating pigs against the disease had nearly been eliminated in Taiwan by the end of last year, but with the recent outbreaks at two farms in Yunlin and Changhua counties, the Council of Agriculture (COA) reportedly intends to resume the practice...
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Dr. Tim Loula addressed the topic of the best approach to swine health in a down market. Among the more striking comments he made was one which talked about the need for a philosophical change. The example he used was along the lines of, if everything went perfectly, what results would we have? For example, in production agriculture, corn geneticists (in Iowa) have predicted that the potential yield at planting is 700 bushels per acre if everything goes perfectly. This philosophy, when...
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External parasites of swine are a serious problem for Florida producers. Arthropod parasites limit production by feeding on blood, skin, and hair. The wounds and skin irritation produced by these parasites result in discomfort and irritation to the animal. In Florida, the major pests on swine are lice, mange mites, ticks and stable flies, although horse flies, deer flies, mosquitoes and wound-infesting maggots may also cause severe problems. Hog...
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The Network of Excellence for Epizootic Disease Diagnosis and Control, EPIZONE, is a European Union (EU) funded research project that started in June 2006. The goal of EPIZONE is to improve research on epizootic diseases within Europe. Its aim is to reduce the economic and social impact of future outbreaks of epizootic infectious diseases in domestic livestock by collaborating research and increasing its excellence. ABGC participation in the EPIZONE network is centred on...
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The disease balantidiasis is an example of a zoonotic waterborne infection. The protozoan causing the infection, Balantidium coli , is common in swine worldwide in warm and temperate climates, but is rarely reported in Canada. Although there appears to be little risk of acquiring B. coli in Canada, producers should be aware of the disease and its effects on their animals and themselves. The prevalence of balantidiasis in Canada is not known precisely since it...
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