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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.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are part of a team that has found a vital clue for battling a disease called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), which costs U.S. swine producers about $560 million annually. PRRSV-infected pigs are susceptible to pneumonia and reproductive losses, and infected sows give birth to weak piglets. It can take weeks or even months for them to recover from the virus, which evolves and adapts quickly to environmental...
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It is now clear that Bio-Mos® improves the growth performance of young pigs (Miguel et al., 2004). The response occurs over a wide range of weaning ages, types of diets, and dietary Bio-Mos® concentrations, and with or without antibiotics in the diet. The performance improvement is greatest during the early days after weaning, and is greater in situations where pigs grow more slowly, but we did not identify other factors consistently related to the Bio-Mos® response. The greater...
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Will New Version of GMP Boost the Veterinary Drugs Industry?
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China is stepping up efforts against an outbreak of deadly pig disease that has spread through much of the vast nation and sent pork prices skyrocketing, the Agriculture Ministry said Thursday. Blue ear, also known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, has infected 280,000 pigs since the start of the year, killing more than 70,000, chief veterinary officer Jia Youling was quoted as saying at a news conference by the official Xinhua News Agency. China has already...
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A Red Deer, Alberta based swine veterinarian reports a relatively new antibacterial, approved for use in swine and cattle, is proving highly effective in treating swine respiratory disease. Swine respiratory diseases can be caused by either bacterial or viral organisms. Draxxin, distributed by Pfizer Animal Health, is the first of a new class of antimicrobials, called triamilides, developed specifically for veterinary use. Dr. Chris Misutka, with Prairie Swine Health...
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Abstract presented at the 41st University of Nottingham Feed Conference. Our deep appreciation to the authors and the kindly cooperation of Prof. Julian Wiseman, Professor of Animal Production / Head of Division, Division of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences a the University of Nottingham, UK. ...
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Those who provide daily care for animals in production agriculture are acutely aware of the importance of animal health. From an economic perspective, as record systems (both performance and financial) used in animal agriculture have become markedly more sophisticated during the last two decades, they have increasingly shown the importance of keeping animals healthy for the economic strength of the production unit and the industry. Indeed, the willingness of animal producers to make...
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Perinatal mortality still plagues the swine industry despite improving knowledge on neonatal physiology, nutrition, health and management. Currently, across Europe one out of 5 to 6 piglets born (i.e., 17 to 20%) does not survive from the onset of farrowing until weaning at 3-4 weeks of age. In France, this means that 6.5 million piglets are lost each year. It is clear that these losses have a serious economic impact while being unacceptable for ethical reasons. Piglet mortality...
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Within a few years, post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) has become a worldwide animal health concern to the pig industry and a real challenge to the veterinary science community. A small single-stranded DNA virus, Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2), was rapidly found in the damaged tissues of affected pigs. However as soon as the laboratory tools adequately tailored to PCV2 detection on a large scale were available, it became evident that the virus was widespread and...
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Yesterday, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health announced the launch of the European PCV-2 Award, which recognizes excellent research proposals in the area of applied immunological PCV-2 research. In total, the winners will be awarded with 75,000 Euro, three prizes of 25,000 € each will be granted to those European researchers that suggest innovative approaches in the field of swine immunology to explore Porcine Circovirus Diseases (PCVD) or PCV–2 associated diseases. With the...
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Selenium (Se) deficiency syndromes in piglets continue to occur to a varying extent during the neonatal and/or post-weaning periods (Mahan, 2000), particularly in litters born to older sows. In addition, selenium status is recognized as having an impact on female reproductive function, although the reasons are not well understood. Antioxidant functions have been implicated, since several of the selenoproteins have known or suspected antioxidant roles, the most familiar being glutathione...
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Will New Version of GMP Boost the Veterinary Drugs Industry?
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Help is on the way for pork producers battling porcine circovirus associated disease (PCVAD).
A joint study with Iowa State University and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. in St. Joseph, Mo., has indicated other swine diseases play a key role in PCVAD occurrence and severity. The announcement was made during the World Pork Expo on June 8.
In addition to porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), other diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), salmonella and...
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Porcine circovirus is 'everywhere,' one expert says, leading three animal health companies to increase production of the treatment. A hard-to-kill virus sweeping through hog herds worldwide is meeting its match: a vaccine that is very effective, but short in supply. The virus, known as porcine circovirus, is "everywhere," said Dr. R.B. "Butch" Baker, senior clinician at Iowa State University's food supply veterinary service. "This thing...
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The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), has today announced it will phase out the use of the veterinary product, dimetridazole, on birds and animals destined for human consumption.
Dimetridazole is used to treat disease in pigs, poultry and caged birds.
A review by the agricultural and veterinary chemicals regulator has found dimetridazole is a potential carcinogen and that its use in food-producing species poses undue risks to workers and consumers....
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The development of antibiotic resistance in humans has led to a growing interest in antibiotic-free animal production worldwide (Bager et al., 2000). Unconventional management, feeding practices, and additives that act as alternatives to antibiotics have been tested (Turner et al., 2001; Stein, 2002). Research in human nutrition has demonstrated that the inclusion of nucleotides in parenteral formulas and infant milk formulas improves intestinal health and the development of the immune...
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Nutrition, intestinal health, and the well-being of animals are intricately related. The gastrointestinal tract is a direct path by which pathogens can enter an animal, and if the protective mechanisms of these organs fail, those pathogens can colonize and/or gain entry into host cells and tissues. Mechanisms by which the gut protects against pathogen invasion include secretion of IgA, maintenance of a viable commensal microflora, maintenance of inhibitory physiological conditions,...
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To meet the growing demand for high-health stock, both at home and abroad, international pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd is setting up fresh production facilities.
Three new farms, a high-health 400-sow dam-line nucleus unit, a 500-sow multiplication unit and a 200-sow high-health boar nucleus unit are being established in Yorkshire but away from areas of high pig density.
Production is being expanded and relocated from existing company-owned farms near its headquarters in East Yorkshire...
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Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) announced this week that it has received approval from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for a new vaccine called Ingelvac CircoFLEX to protect swine against diseases caused by porcine circovirus type-2 (PCV2).
According to Klaas Okkinga, BIVI marketing manager, Ingelvac CircoFLEX is a single-dose vaccine that provides efficacy and safety to pigs.
"It's effective in immunizing pigs as young as three weeks of age prior to...
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The Department of Agriculture has extended the campaign to eradicate an outbreak of classical swine fever in the Eastern Cape by another six months.
The department said the outbreak was under control with large numbers of infected pigs having been culled.
"As a result, the number of cases [of swine fever] in the Eastern Cape has decreased considerably, despite persistence in areas of Amathole, Chris Hani and OR Tambo municipal districts."
During this period the province will remain a...
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Will New Version of GMP Boost the Veterinary Drugs Industry?
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An Advanced Listeria monocytogenes Intervention and Control Workshop, presented by the American Meat Institute Foundation, will be held Nov. 14-15 at the Hyatt Regency Denver in Denver, Colorado.
The workshop is designed to help manufacturers of ready-to-eat meat and meat products examine the issues surrounding testing and to provide experience in developing appropriate sanitation standards and procedures for processing RTE products.
A general session address will discuss "Producing...
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Lucta S.A., a worldwide leader in the field of palatability enhancers for animals, announces the opening of its Swine Experimental Unit (SEU), where studies on swine preferences and voluntary feed and water intake, among others, will be conducted. The research unit is located 80 km North of the Barcelona headquarters and can house up to 500 weanling pigs. The unit operates with 4 completely independent rooms containing 12 pens of 10 pigs each per room and has state of the art...
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