Articles - Pig health

We may have some highly efficient vaccines, but we shouldn’t forget that for their application we must obtain good diagnostic information, and that in all cases we should not lose sight of good management and a good control of the concomitant diseases.

Between 1995 and 1997, at the beginning of an epizootic called “maladie de l’amagrissement du porcelet” (MAP), it was observed that the farms that were most affected and that had the most losses, generally presented obvious deviations from what we would consider to be a suitable management of the animals and facilities. This is why Dr. François Madec made a list of management practices with the aim of improving the anomalous situation observed.

The use of diagnostics will allow producers and practitioners to work together towards the common goal of PRRS eradication

Preventing vertical and horizontal spread of PRRSV from dam to offspring is critical for the production of naive replacement stock

The aim of this article is to discuss those differentiating topics which are relevant from a practical point of view and which in some way elude the disease's definition.

Trailers contaminated with PRRSV can serve as a source of infection for naïve pigs. Therefore, sanitation for livestock trailers and transport vehicles is considered a high priority when it comes to biosecurity practices.

The autopsy is always an important diagnostic element for the majority of diseases, and this is the same for porcine circovirosis.

The presence of subpopulations of exposed and non-exposed sows in chronically PRRSV-infected breeding herds assists in the maintenance of virus circulation in the breeding herd over time.

It is assumed that the most probable route of PCV2 transmission is the oronasal tract, which would indicate that horizontal transmission (sow-piglet or piglet-piglet) is a frequent or very frequent occurence

Migratory waterfowl have been proposed as vectors of PRRSV spread between farms, due to their migratory nature and their tendency to nest on or near to swine farm lagoons

Joaquim Segalés, professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and researcher at the Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA) (research centre for animal health), was one of the first researchers to discover PMWS and PDNS in Spain. He will be in charge of this section where every month articles will be published on the latest themes, especially from a practical point of view. These themes will include etiology, patogenicity, epidemiology, diagnostic, treatment and prevention of porcine circovirus-associated diseases. A possible hypothesis will also be presented on the emergence of porcine circovirus on a worldwide level.