Articles - Pig health

Post-weaning colibacillosis and oedema disease are common global infection among farmed pigs – these strains of E coli appear to be "embedded" in most pig farms, so elimination is not a current option. Vaccination of sows or gilts with ETEC vaccines has no effect on post-weaning E. coli infections.

Since a vast majority of commercial farms are endemically infected with M. hyopneumoniae, the control measures applied against PRRS should include measures against M. hyopneumoniae.

The loss associated with decreased ADWG was of 13.1 € and 7.5 €/pig at 21 weeks of age for pigs with high and medium serum PCV2 load under the scenario studied.

In areas with a high density of pigs, a large proportion of farms are endemically infected. In these situations, the group at the highest risk is the gilts.

The high seroprevalences found supports the feeling you get in the field that PCV2, PRRSV, and SIV are very widespread viruses in our farms.

The cost of PRRS ranges from €17 to €185/sow/year in the three studies presented.

We are called because of sudden deaths in several integrated fattening farms.

As the Influenza A virus ecology has become more complex due to viral reassortment and mutation, so have the sample types and diagnostic tests available for detecting or diagnosing influenza infections in swine.

From 2000 to 2007 a PRRSv eradication plan was developed successfully in Chile. in October 2013 the spread of a new PRRS virus to several important Chilean pig companies was confirmed.

This article will focus on clinical signs of some E coli infections: neonatal colibacillosis, post-weaning colibacillosis diarrhoea and oedema disease.

Distinct PCV2 variants are circulating in commercial pig farms. How the vaccine induced immunity may affect PCV2 evolution?

The ASF situation in Poland (19 cases and 2 outbreaks in 4 municipalities) seems to be very different from the countries east from Poland: it can be concluded that among wild boar in 4 municipalities the course of the disease is endemic rather than epidemic.

A lot of work needs to be done for controlling HP-PRRS completely. The implementation of proper regional control and eradication programs against PRRS is necessary in China and the Asian countries. Meanwhile, the increasing diversity of the PRRSV should be taken into consideration for developing more effective and safe vaccines.

In May 2013 a sow farm in Indiana (USA) broke with PEDv. In mid March 2014, scour were observed in the onsite nursery and finisher. In the subsequent week, PEDv was diagnosed of the same strain (99.9 % homology) and the virus moved into the farrowing house.

The main aspect that cannot be forgotten is the complete approach necessary to evaluate all possibilities. In that sense, samples have to be collected and tested to all possible agents that might cause diarrhea.

The benefit on antibiotic use is particularly clear when herds are multicontaminated by pathogenic virus and bacteria, allowing also to maintain animal welfare and operational productivity, but a good immunity against PCV2 is effective also in high health status herds.

The ideal sample for diagnostic of neonatal enteric pathogens is the submission of live piglets.

Finding an occasional pig with PCVAD within a large population is not unexpected since vaccination compliance is rarely 100%. How does one assess impact of PCVAD in a vaccinated population?

Estimated losses associated with M. hyopneumoniae alone and M. hyopneumoniae in combination with PRRSV were among the four health challenges with the highest estimated average loss for all pigs in the study population.

Well intentioned treatment of piglets at birth may adversely affect the normal early nasopharyngeal or tonsil colonisation making pigs vulnerable to respiratory infections due to potential pathogens present within the herd.

A comprehensive picture of viral variation at the beginning of control and elimination projects is critical for effective monitoring of progress and effectiveness of implementation procedures, and for identification of new virus introductions to farms and to the region.

It is a test that allows the verification of the carrying out and/or the quality of the vaccination in cases such as the entrance of piglets for their fattening.

In the future, the EU will have to define its swine salmonellosis reduction objectives for each country depending on their starting point.

Altering animal flow to insure exposure to PCV2 prior to breeding, as part of an acclimation program is necessary to minimize the risk of PCV2 associated reproductive disease.