Porcine Health Management

For biosecurity to be effective, employees must follow all protocols.  For employees to follow all protocols, they must have good knowledge, compliance and attitudes of the protocols.The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, compliance, and attitudes of English and Spanish speaking farm employees towards biosecurity Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Materials and Methods 14 sow farms in the Carthage System having a minimum of 3 English speaking employees and 3 Spanish speaking employees were selected. A survey was given to each employee in English or Spanish according to the employee’s first language. The survey contained 8 knowledge based questions about farm biosecurity SOPs.

Infectious diseases are of great economic importance in swine production, causing both clinical and subclinical disease influencing welfare, productivity and antibiotic use. The course of diseases is often multifactorial and laboratory diagnostics are not routinely performed. The aim of the study was to evaluate the benefit of monthly health monitoring in nursery and finisher pigs using fecal sock samples and oral fluid samples on a high-throughput qPCR platform, able to detect up to 48 pathogens, combined with serology. Materials and methods Three monthly sampling rounds were conducted in 6 nursery and 4 finisher herds.

Scoring of lung lesions in slaughter pigs provides very important information about the respiratory health in the pig population. Lesions suggestive for previous M.hyo or A.p. infections and their scoring were described before. Scoring of those lesions allows quantifying the problems with enzootic pneumonia end pleuropneumonia. The aim of this survey was to collect the results of major swine producing European countries in 2017. Materials and methods Ceva Lung Program scoring methodology was implemented to score the lesions at the slaughterhouse.

In order to update data concerning the different practices and perception for antimicrobial usage in pig farms, a study has been conducted to compare antimicrobial usage, technical performances, management practices, farmers’ perception of their antimicrobial usage and farmers’ attitudes toward antimicrobial resistance.   Materials and Methods The survey was carried out in 20 selected pig farms located in the West region in France among the 156 monitored since 2015 for their antimicrobial usage (based on vet prescriptions). A questionnaire has been filled during an interview with farmers.

Introduction Edema disease (ED) is a disease due to an enteric bacteria, E. coli producing Shiga toxin 2e (Stx2e). Since October 2013, Ecoporc SHIGA®, a vaccine against Stx2e is available in France. The vaccine reduces mortality and clinical signs due to ED, but users observed that vaccinated pigs were in general healthier and showed better performance. This study was conducted to scientifically verify these observations.   Material and Methods Inclusion criteria of the farms (n = 5) were: Clinical ED post weaning and implementation of Ecoporc SHIGA® for over 1.5 year Performances registered every trimester and piglets weighted when entering fattening No significant changes in genetics or animal management, and no concomitant disease incident The comparison was made between 1 year before vaccination (trimester T-4 to T-1) and 1 full year after vaccination (T2-T5). The trimester when vaccination had been implemented (T0) and the following (T1) were excluded; therefore the effect of the ED crisis itself was not evaluated.

Sometimes a vaccination strategy that you recommended did not present the expected results? It can be frustrating when you did an excellent veterinary work, with accurate diagnostics, proper selection of vaccine and vaccination program, and in the end it didn´t work. In our practice we evaluated vaccination success and failure in over 50 farms for several diseases (Aujeszky´s, PCV2, MHYO, PRRS and Bordetella) and found that this is highly influenced by the PEOPLE that manage on-farm vaccination procedures. We implemented a program (Plan.Explain.Demonstrate.Register.Audit.) to improve vaccination success involving Vets, farm managers and workers.  

Influenza A virus (IAV) is known to persist in swine breeding herds. The herd level prevalence of IAV and within herd prevalence of IAV antibodies in US swine herds is poorly understood.   Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of 28-mixed parity herds (inventory >2000) from 7 states were enrolled. A 73-question survey identified herd characteristics and management practices. Three to five day old piglets were sampled in three separate cohorts at monthly intervals. Each consisted of 2 pigs from 24 litters (n=48) stratified over three dam parity groups. Antibodies in serum against IAV were detected with three assays: 1) NP ELISA assay (NP), 2) Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) assay against H1N1 (H1) and 3) an HI assay against H3N2 (H3).

Coughing pigs are a common complaint that producers report and veterinarians make recommendations to address.  The measurement of cough is subjective, e.g. “better or worse”, or categorical, e.g. mild, moderate or severe, which makes the assessment of an intervention based on cough challenging.  In 2016, a free, app-based tool was published by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Gmbh to make the measurement of cough more standardized and objective in a production setting.  The tool is a Cough Index Calculator and results in a cough index score. 

PRRS control needs a global approach to be successful. At farm level, identifying the critical points which contribute to maintain PRRS virus circulation is crucial. To list these points a dedicated questionnaire has been used in 53 French farms as part of the 5-Steps® approach. The objective of this work is to give a summary of the results obtained. Material & Methods From July 2015 to June 2017, 53 farms with a project of PRRS control were investigated. During these visits a questionnaire consisting in 4 parts (external and internal biosecurity, management and hygiene) giving 62 questions was performed.

The impact of PRRS on sow and pig performance can be reduced by use of vaccination. This study aimed to investigate sow and pig performance after implementation of a whole herd vaccination programme on a farm in Serbia.   Material & Methods The study was conducted on a multi-site farm with 1250 sows on a farrow-to-feeder site and 2 separate finishing units.

PCV2 plays an important role in porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) and viremia in late fattening pigs contributes to extended lung lesions, reduced daily weight gains and increased antibiotic use. The following investigation was conducted to show efficacy of an intradermal PCV2-vaccine on production parameters after an acute PCV2 infection under field conditions in Germany.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus is one of the most challenging diseases in pigs. Vaccination (IM and ID) against PRRS has been established as an important tool to minimize the clinical impact of the diseases. The impact of a strategic piglet PRRS vaccination with IDAL on standard production parameters and general herd health status was investigated.

In addition to PRRS, Influenza and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae also have a regional impact. Regional programs often fail due to a lack of funding. Structural Implementation of technical-, financial- and antibiotic use parameters (KPI’s) can stimulate the intrinsic motivation of farmers to keep participating. Two vet-practices and MSD-AH implemented a regional swine health-program in a pig dense region. The above KPI’s and disease prevalence are monitored.  

The objective of this field study was to evaluate the placement of bait station and the application of rodenticides at a swine farm facility that has dealt with uncontrolled, high populations of rats and mice. The facility faces the challenge of having a feed mill plant in near proximity. Material & Methods Two problem barns were chosen for evaluation of a new protocol (Barn 30 and Barn 31).

Large data volumes can no longer be analyzed using conventional methods; they have to be made usable by applying new methods. So far, such methods have not had much impact on animal husbandry. Swiss pig production differs from the intensive production systems in other European countries because of its complex, small-scale structure.