Articles - Pig health

Oral fluids are practical, fast, easy, cost-effective and reliable methods for sampling pig populations, but it has not been easy or practical to obtain such samples from suckling piglets...

The complexity of ASF control means we need to make a group effort to prevent the disease from entering the EU and make sure we are prepared to fight the disease if it shows up.

Many veterinarians find bronchial scraping a less invasive and, above all, simpler sampling method than bronchoalveolar lavage.

The success of the Danish salmonella program in pigs and pork is a result of improvements in slaughterhouse hygiene, more than it can be attributed to control in primary production. Today focus is on the end result, measured as carcass prevalence.

Although the use of vaccination was effective in stabilizing the sows, the results of these case studies emphasized that elimination of PRRSV from the nursery can only be accomplished if vaccination and partial depopulation/ disinfection are supported by strict implementation of all recommended management procedures, including AI/AO.

This case report highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to achieve a correct differential diagnosis.

This article introduces us to the complex world of porcine immunology.

We need to understand what is happening and what the circumstances are that cause bacteria that are also present in the microbiota of healthy piglets to multiply in such a way that they are capable of causing diarrhoea.

The Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) in the EU recommended the withdrawal of marketing authorisations for veterinary products containing zinc oxide in December 2016. Then CVMP decided to re-evaluate its opinion. The final decision is expected soon…

After more than a decade there is little to suggest that LA-MRSA poses an imminent threat to public health, even in countries where prevalence is high in pigs.

This article explains the main preventive measures against App, focusing on the use of antimicrobials and vaccines.

How can a veterinarian deal with a multiplier herd or any commercial herd positive for a low pathogenic B. hyodysenteriae?

This article is about the diagnosis of the infection caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) in acute, chronic or subclinical cases.

This case study describes an outbreak in a commercial unit which proved difficult to stop without vaccine. Since 2014 an increasing number of cases of this disease have been reported in Europe though it remains unclear why it has reappeared.

To diagnose E. coli scours we must rule out all other causative agents of early nursery scours, including TGE, PEDv, PDCoV, Rotavirus, and Salmonellosis, and get a positive E. coli culture from piglet rectal swabs.

The prevalence of Mycoplasmal pneumonia and pericarditis lesions was significantly higher in pigs weaned at lower weights compared to their heavier cohorts, despite the provision of a superior production system for the lower weight group.

In the wake of the so-called “swine flu” a European surveillance program was carried out in 2013-2015: H1N1pdm is present in several European countries, and at particularly high prevalence in Britain and Ireland.

The purpose of this study was to compare efficacy of LCE (load-close-expose) using attenuated PRRSV to that using live-virus exposure on breeding herds acutely infected with PRRSv.

How can we expect our livestock to acquire a healthy microbiome when there is such limited exposure to the microbes that they evolved with?

PCV-2 and PRRS are the most common infectious causes of abortions. Most abortions are also found to occur during the colder months, regardless of their cause.

This article explains how E. coli breaks the complex intestinal barrier mechanisms in a comprehensible way.

PED virus has challenged biosecurity programs in North America, the standards of sanitation have risen to a new level to address PEDV. The article deals with the most relevant changes.

The reasons behind the vaccination against influenza virus on a group of fattenig units with recurrent respiratory clinical pictures that belong to an integrated production system are discussed. Impact on production parameters and economic results are also shown.

Achieving good levels of colostral immunity by vaccinating sows is the first step to prevent scours; subsequently, active pre or post-weaning immunization must be added to prevent post-weaning diarrhoea.