Farm animal MSK diseases 4 Flashcards
Outline the role of Streptococcus suis in bacterial arthritis in pigs
- Primary pathogen
- Commensal of nostril, tonsil, vagina
- Can act opportunistically, esp. with PRRSc
- May also see meningitis/polyserositis (may die before lame)
How is Streptococcus suis transmitted?
- Often bought into a herd via carrier pigs
- Spread at tooth clipping/tail docking
Give the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Streptococcus suis bacterial arthritis in pigs
- Diagnosis: culturing affected tissue
- Treatment: antibiotics (mostly injectable, 5 days), NSAIDs
- Can respond well if treated early
Outline your approach to bacterial arthritis in suckling pigs
- Stop teeth clipping, check piglets mouths and clipping equipment
- Check colostrum management via blood sample from pigets
- Check iron administration esp. indoor systems, and hygiene of injector
- Check navel treatments and tail docking are carried out correctly and correct hygiene
- Check concurrent disease status esp. PRRSv
- Review flooring, state of creep temperatures and draughts i.e. housing
- Short term: preventative Abs prior to risk period to stop cycle
What is splayleg in piglets and how is it caused?
- Exact cause unknown, probably multiple
- Myofibrillar hypoplasia at histopath
Describe the typical clinical presentation of splayleg in piglets
- More common in Landrace pigs, and males
- Evident within 2-4 hours of birth, usually resolves ~5 days of age
- Can affect front, back or all legs
- Death of results due to inability to feed
Outline the treatment and prognosis for splayleg in piglets
- If not nursed appropriately, die due to not feeding
- Tape affected limbs together using 2.5cm wide plaster strip, leaving 5-8cm gap between legs
- Massage frequently
- Assist with feeding, give 10ml colostrum asap
- Keep on rough floor to prevent slipping
- Consider split suckling to reduce competition
Give the aetiology, presentation and management of congenital hyperostosis in pigs
- Thick leg syndrome
- Genetic aetiology: recessive autosomal gene, very rare
- Individual litters born with bony thickenings of the legs, esp. HLs
- Do not use same combination of boar and sow again
List the MSK conditions that typically occur in suckling pigs
- Bacterial arthritis
- Splay leg
- Congenital hyperostosis
- Trauma
List the MSK conditions that typically occur in growing pigs
- Erysipelas
- Metabolic bone disease
- Porcine stress syndrome
- Mycoplasma hyosynoviae
- Bacterial arthritis
- Spinal abscesses
Outline the aetiology of erysipelas in pigs
- Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, common soil borne organism with tropism for heart valves, skin and joints
- Can also cause septicaemia
How does erysipelas cause lameness in pigs?
Joint infection causes turbid fibrinous arthritis
How can erysipelas be diagnosed, treated and prevented in pigs?
- Diagnosis: serum/joint fluid serology or culture
- Treatment: penicillin sometimes effective if used early
- Sows usually vaccinated, no need to vacc growing pigs unless known significant risk e.g. excessive contact with soil
Outline the cause and incidence of metabolic bone disease (osteomalacia, rickets) in pigs
- Reasonably common, esp. organic/home mill and mix farms
- Pathogenesis is imbalance between vit D, Ca, P (often Ca:P ratio wrong)
What are the consequences of metabolic bone disease in pigs and how can it be diagnosed?
- High incidence of pathological fractures and condemnations at slaughter
- Other bone abnormalities depending on cause
- Diagnosis on histopathology
What is porcine stress syndrome and how does it occur?
- Halothene gene, genetic mutation in ryr-1 gene that codes for calcium release channel of sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Homozygotes are clinically affected
Describe the signalment and clinical signs of porcine stress syndrome
- Pietrain, Landrace, Duroc
- Muscle tremors
- Dyspnoea
- Rapid increase in temp
- Collapse
- Death
What diseases is porcine stress syndrome associated with?
- PSS
- Malignant hyperthermia
- Pale Soft and Exudative pork
- Back muscle necrosis
How is porcine stress syndrome diagnosed?
Histopathology of heart and skeletal muscle
Desribe the aetiopathogenesis of Mycoplasma hyosynoviae as a cause of lameness in pigs
- Plasmalymphocytic arthritis/synovitis, non-purulent
- Is a common, ubiquitous, primary pathogen
- Disease often follows stress, incubation period 1-3 weeks
Outline the signalment and clinical signs of Mycoplasma hyosynoviae infection in pigs
- Mild to severe lameness with swollen joints
- Sudden onset lameness
- One hindlimb commonly more severe
- Few other outward signs other than lameness
- Typically new group of gilts/boars 10-14 days post arrival on farm
How is Mycoplasma hyosynoviae in pigs diagnosed?
- Culutre of organism difficult, no reliable serology
- Often led by clinical picture
- Antibody examination of synovial fluid possible
- Response to lincomycin/tiamulin/tylosin good diagnostic indicator
Outline the teatment and control of Mycoplasma hyosynoviae in pigs
- Tiamulin or lincomycin usually good effect
- Control can be difficult if brought in by new gilts
Describe the aetiopathogenesis of spinal abscesses in pigs
Almost always bacteraemic spread from focus of infection e.g. tail biting lesion
Describe the clinical signs and treatment of spinal abscesses in pigs
- Affect joints swollen +/- abscessesation
- Pigs off legs but bright, variable paresis/paralysis of HLs
- Treatment rarely economical, culled on welfare grounds
List the MSK diseases that typically affect growing/breeding gilts
- Osteochondrosis
- Erysipelas
- Mycoplasma hyosynoviae
Outline the aetiology of osteochondrosis in pigs
- Non-infectious disease of joint surface, resulting in irreversible deterioration of articular cartilage and underlying bone
- Disturbance to endochondral ossification of articular cartilage when bones are still developing
- Highly prevalent (84-95% of sows)
What is osteochondrosis commonly associated with in pigs?
- Rapid growth rate
- Nutrition
- Genetic factors
- Flooring
Describe the clinical signs of osteochondrosis in pigs
- Variable from sub-clinical to severe
- Pain when standing
- Walking on knees
- Unwilling to extend carpi
- Ataxic, swaying gait
- Wide HL stance
How is osteochondrosis diagnosed and treated in pigs?
- Diagnosis by elimination and clinical signs, PM is only method for definitive diagnosis
- Treatment ineffective, prevention key
List the MSK disease that typically affect adult sows
- Epiphysiolysis
- Foot/shoulder lesions
Describe the aetiopathogenesis epiphysiolysis in pigs
- Fracture/separation of bones at epiphyseal plate
- Related to OCD
- Metabolic bone disease usually affecting gilts and lower parity sows
- Femoral head shears off when gilts move to service area
How can epiphysiolysis in pigs be prevented?
- Alter lactation nutrition
- Ensure gilts are correct weight at breeding (120kg)
What shoulder lesions commonly occur in adult sows?
Ischaemic necrosis over shoulder blade in later stages of lactation, generally thin sows
Outline the treatment and prognosis of shoulder lesions in adult sows
- Keep clean until weaning
- After weaning place in hospital pen with straw, feed to restore BCS
- Healing normally complete within a month, breed as normal after weaning
Describe a broad approach to lameness in pigs
- If >2% of pigs recorded lame per month, investigate further
- If foot involvement, look closely at flow surfaces
- Look for marks on skin that may indicate fighting
- Look for cuts or breaks in skin that may indicate sharp projections from environment
List the differentials for a sudden onset lameness in a pig, with no visible abnormalities and pig otherwise normal, indicating the most likely 3 (at the top)
- Trauma
- Acute leg weaknes OCD
- Fractures
- Black muscle necrosis
- Broken back
- Calcium phosphorous deficiencies
- Laminitis
- Muscle tear
- Muscular dystrophy
List the differentials for a gradual onset lameness in a pig, with no visible abnormalities and pig otherwise normal (top 3 first)
- Erysipelas
- Mycoplasma arthritis
- leg weakness OCD
- Abscesses
- Rickets
List the diffeerentials for a sudden onset lameness in a pig with visible abnormalities, pig off food, +/- pyrexia, swellings/other signs present (top 2 first)
- Erysipelas
- Streptococcal infections
- Back muscle necrosis
- Fractures
- Haematoma
- PSS
- Vesicular diseases
List the differentials for a gradual onset lameness in a pig with visible abnormalities, pig off food, +/- pyrexia, swellings/other signs present (top 4 first)
- Bush foot
- Erysipelas
- Glassers disease
- Mycoplasma arthritis
- Bursitis
- Vesicular diseases
List the common causes of hindlimb lameness in pigs
- Joint ill and splayleg in piglets
- Mycoplasma hyosynoviae arthritis
- Ulcerations
- Bursitis
- Osteochondritis dissecans
- Swollen or bush feet
- Overgrown hoof conditions
- Erysipelas
- Conformation issues - genetics
Describe the treatment and prevention of ulcerations in pigs
- Remove animal to hospital pen with straw bedding
- Cover with wound spray
- Secondary infection may occur if in dirty environment
- Consider lime washing floors and walls to reduce sharp points
Describe the cause of swollen/bush foot in pigs
- Infection enters foot via number of routes
- Puncture/trauma wound to lower leg
- Open wounds from abrasive floors
Describe the treatment of bush foot in pigs
- Move to hospital pen with good flooring, ideally straw bedding
- Licomycin injection
- Ensure pig encouraged to stand several times a day
Describe the cause clinical presentation of ulcerated granulomas in pigs
- Borrelia suis may occasionally be specific cause
- Large granuloma develops on fore/hind leg
- Lesion looks more severe than behaviour of animal indicates
Outline the treatment of ulcerated granulomas in pigs
- No effective treatment
- Control lesion size by housing on straw
- Culling may be necessary
Describe the possible consequences and management of overgrown hooves in pigs
- Contribute to preweaning mortality as sow is clumsy
- Need to inspect and trim regularly, ideally immediately after farrowing
- Can use small grinder to trim, can be very difficult
Give examples of conformation issues that may cause lameness in pigs
- HL under abdomen
- Toes pointing
- FL too straight
- Excess muscling
- Dipped shoulders
- Misshapen, uneven toes
- Dropped pasterns
- Valgus or varus
- Splaying of toes, mule foot, uneven toes,
What problems are seen particularly with angular limb deformities in pigs?
- Screw toes
- Rolled hoof wall
Give examples of foot lesions that may lead to lameness in pigs
- Hoof craw
- Corns
- Overgrowth of supernumerary digit
- Interdigital growth
- Interdigital abscess
List critical MSK conditions of pigs
- Vesicular diseases e.g. FMDV
- Trauma
- Femoral head fracture
- Split hips
List potential causes of leg fractures in pigs
- Poor building design or potholes
- Sows sleeping in stall trampled
- Mis-sizing boars and sows
- Weakened bones with osteoporosis at weaning in gilts
- If herd issue, consider nutritional imbalance
Outline the potential causes of femoral head fracture in pigs
- Usually epiphysiolysis
- Or following trauma e.g. bullying/pushing through narrow doorway/mating injury
Describe the typical appearance of a femoral head fracture in a pig
Sudden onset unilateral HL lameness with collapse of gluteal muscles (mainly on one side)
Outline the cause, appearance, treatment and prevention of split hips in pigs
- Falls/does the splits
- Tear pelvic muscles leading to inability to rise
- Euthanasia asap (max 7 days after onset)
- Control by reviewing floor and lying patterns of sows
Discuss the approach to foot trimming in pigs
- Extremely difficult
- Usually requires sedation of the pig
List the drugs that may be used to sedate pigs for foot trimming, indicating those that are licensed, and give some important considerations for each drug
- Azaperone (is the only licensed one), leads to heat loss so provide secondary heat source, can be combined with ketamine
- ACP IM, unpredictable, combine with ket
- Diazepam or midazolam IM or IV: can be combined with ket, alone does not reliably sedate adult pigs
- Xyalzine IM, less potent than in ruminants, best used in combinatio with ketamine and butorphanol
Discuss the side effects of azaperone in pigs
- Doses >1mg/kg in boars associated with penile prolapse
- Peripheral vasodilation and heat loss
