Diamond-shaped skin lesions - Atlas of swine pathology
Where: skin and subcutaneous tissue
Possible causes: Erysipela
Lesions caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in a case of erysipelas. The cutaneous form of the disease is usually associated with acute episodes, with very characteristic diamond-shaped (rhomboidal) lesions spread throughout the body. Despite having been vaccinated, this sow showed clinical disease, with high fever and abortion. Sows and fattening pigs are the most sensitive population on farms.
The chronic form of the disease does not present with cutaneous manifestations, and it is associated with endocarditis or arthritis —also seen in streptococcal infections—, Glasser disease and mycoplasmosis (M. hyorhinisy, M. hyosinoviae).