Articles - Pig health

In Korea, it is common to vaccinate sows as a whole-herd mass vaccination program, where all sows are vaccinated quarterly with a type 2 PRRSV vaccine. Therefore, it is recommended to vaccinate breeding females quarterly with additional type 1 PRRSV vaccine to control type 1 PRRSV infection.

The article suggests measuring external risks in order to compare swine farms based on a numerical figure, and thus initiate corrective measures to improve and numerically verify the improvements achieved.

Understanding potential causes of lameness can help reduce the levels of lameness in the breeding herd and thus improve farm productivity and sow welfare.

Type 1 PRRSV is highly prevalent in Korean swine herds and currently reproductive failure is more important consequence of infection with type 1 PRRSV, than is respiratory diseases in growing pigs.

All sequenced PEDV isolates that were found recently within European countries were most closely related to so called S INDEL PEDV, which was originally described in the US in January 2014.

The aim of the main nutritional strategies is to ensure a beneficial effect on the digestive flora of piglets and their intestinal health after weaning, thus reducing the risk of colibacillosis.

This article describes a new syndrome in pigs that causes external and internal birth defects, especially in the liver and heart.

This type of investment may not be crazy when it comes to protecting farms with high genetic value (others are dependent on) or insemination centres.

How much has disease changed from its first introduction? Currently, we can find a new variant that appears to be a much milder form of PEDv, there are sow herds with chronic PEDv ( ~10% of breeding herds), a few sow herds with re-breaks (~ 3-5% of herds), ….

According to the present status and the experiences obtained during the previous one and a half year, Hungary will get free of PRRS by 2020.

Interactions between nutritional strategies and prevalence / severity of GI clinical pictures caused by E. coli after weaning.

Recently, PED outbreaks caused by viruses with high sequence identity to those in US but with rather low impact have recently been reported in several European countries.

Pigs can act as a source of new influenza strains with zoonotic potential, but the increase of the genetic diversity of the swine influenza viruses is largely due to the introduction of influenza strains of human origin. Therefore, it is highly recommended that all staff that has frequent contact with pigs should be vaccinated against influenza.

Diagnosis in oral fluids is indicated for the control of replacements on arrival and after the adaptation process, and of the different production batches, especially risk subpopulations such as animals with a slow growth rate.

Genetic and antigenic diversity of influenza virus should be understood as something dynamic and constantly evolving. So, it is crucial to encourage active surveillance of SIV in order to improve our knowledge of the SIV strains present in the European pig and their particular prevalence and impact in swine production.

It allows us to analyse virulence factors directly on the clinical sample, avoiding the intermediate stages of culture and determinations on each of the selected isolates, leading to considerable savings in time and costs.

Flies are not usually seen as a real risk of infection between farms unless we're talking about very high-density areas. However, flies can travel long distances if captured when collecting carcasses.

The author questions whether the US virus is more virulent than the strain CV777 isolated in Europe in 1977 or whether the disease is indeed more devastating now than it was in the seventies in Europe.

Recently, PCV2 has been suggested as a pathogen able to induce diarrhoea in pigs, and PCV2-enteric disease (PCV2-ED) as a separate entity within porcine circovirus diseases (PCVDs) has been proposed.

The most direct strategy to decrease the concentration in the air of airborne pathogens is dust reduction. This article describes the use of a particle ionization system called EPI.

Biosecurity measures for visitors should be implemented in all farms without exception, and hand washing with soap and subsequent disinfection should be compulsory in those farms where showering is not.

Influenza infections are self-limiting at the individual animal level with infection lasting between 5 and 7 days approximately. However, influenza virus is considered endemic in swine populations worldwide, and is not uncommon to find between 3 and 5% of pigs positive to influenza virus at slaughter.

How can we tell whether a transport vehicle is clean by just taking a glimpse?

The current situation for PED is that of continual occurrence of moderate to severe outbreaks in many pig farms, across Asia, USA and elsewhere, on both naïve farms and those that have suffered previous episodes.