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Farm Animal Final Year > Porcine Neurology > Flashcards

Porcine Neurology Flashcards

1
Q

What history do we need to get when called out to a pig farm?

A
  • Type of farm, location of sick pigs in farm
  • Age and number of affected pigs
  • Number of deaths
  • Length of time with clinical signs
  • Response to treatment (farmer might have had a go at treating)
  • Conditions of shed – water, To, ventilation
  • Additives in feed
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2
Q

What nervous signs are seen in pigs?

A
  • Paddling, twitching
  • Head tilting, un-coordinated, circling, staggering, goose-stepping
  • Change in squeak!
  • Pigs depressed, lying down
  • Pigs stop eating
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3
Q

How would we approach to pigs being presented with nervous signs?

A

•Walk-through of farm

–Disease prevalence, assessment of staff, check on pen equipment, feed, water etc

  • Clinical examination of pigs
  • PM of 2 or 3 pigs

–On-farm or at VIC

–Often no gross lesions

–Swab brain stem for strep

–Culture half brains for virus

•Serum from 10 pigs

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4
Q

How would you conduct a neuro exam of a pig?

A
  1. Observation from far
    - What are the pigs doing?
  2. Examination of head and eyes

–Head tilt, pus in ear, nystagmus, ocular reflexes

3.Determine likely point of origin

–Specific cranial nerve lesions rare

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5
Q

What is seen with cerebral lesions?

A

Altered mental state

–Depression, stupor, hyperaesthesia

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6
Q

What is seen with cerebellar lesions?

A

–Intention tremor, dysmetria, high stepping gate

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7
Q

What is seen with vestibular lesions?

A

•otitis media

–Head tilt (ipsilateral), circling, rolling

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8
Q

What is seen with UMN lesions?

A

–Spatial positioning limbs, exaggerated reflexes, weakened/increased extensor tone

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9
Q

What is seen with LMN lesions?

A

–Reduced local muscle tine and muscle atrophy, reflexes reduced/absent

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10
Q

What is seen with spinal cord lesions?

A

•tail bite injuries

–Located by evaluating reflexes above and below lesion

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11
Q

What is seen with a skin sensitivty test?

A

–Conscious response indicates spinal cord and peripheral sensory nerve are intact

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12
Q

Where is panniculus not a good test?

A

Older

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13
Q

Pedal withdrawal test, what if there is a:

A) Exaggerated response?

B) Reduced response?

A

A) UMN lesion

B) LMN lesion

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14
Q

Where do we do a patellar refelx?

A

Sedated ppigs

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15
Q

How can we evaluate gait and posture?

A
  • Difficult in the pig
  • Encourage pig to move at different paces and different directions
  • Ability to negotiate steps between pens
  • Abnormal gait e.g. hypermetria may be visible (cerebellar lesions)
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16
Q

What neuro tests can we do?

A

•Proprioception

–Usually only possible in piglets – UMN lesions

–Wheelbarrow test

•CSF

–lumbar puncture at lumbosacral space

  • Serology
  • PM
  • Notifiable disease! (Aujeszky’s disease, CSF, Teschen’s disease)
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17
Q

Name differentials for neuro signs in piglets

A

•Bacterial meningitis – streptococcus

•Viral infections – Aujeszky’s, CSF, Teschen, others

•Congenital tremors

–Common outbreaks – new genetics and viral

–Shaking piglets

–Many recover with nursing

•Carbon monoxide poisoning

–Heating devices for piglets

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18
Q

Name differentials for growing pigs with neuro signs. Highlight the most common

A

Streptococal meningitis

Water deprivation

Oedema disease

Aujeszky’s disease

Teschen disease (enteroviruses)

Poisonings

19
Q

Streptococcal meningitis:

A) Which types affect?

B) What else other than neuro does it cause?

C) What is the risk?

A

A) Streptococcus suis types 1, 2 and 14

B) Arthiritis and serositis

C) Zoonosis

20
Q

Streptococcus suis type 1:

A) Where is it carried?

B) Where is it common?

C) Name clincial signs

A

A) Organism is carried in the tonsils of carrier sows and enters piglets body through the tonsilar crypts

B) In piglets aged 10-14 days

C) pyrexia, sudden death, swollen joints, recumbency, convulsions, nystagmus

21
Q

Streptococcus suis type 1:

A) How is it diagnosed?

B) How do you treat?

C) How can you can control?

A

A) CS and culture from PM

B) 3-5d penicillin, TMS plus NSAID. Prognosis poor if meningitis (consider euthanasia)

C) hygiene farrowing accomodation, prophylactic antibiotics, depop if severe

22
Q

Discuss this

How could we confirm?

A

Streptococcus suis type 1

  • Small amounts of pus in meninges esp. at brain stem
  • No other lesions
  • Histology and bacteriology confirm Dx
23
Q

Strep Suis type 2 and 14:

A) How is it zoonotic?

B) Where is it usually seen?

C) What are the clinical signs?

A

A) Abrasions/oropharynx

B) 3-7 days after stressed in growing pigs

C) •sudden death, pyrexia, acute arthritis, meningitis

24
Q

Strep Suis 2 and 14:

A) How do we diagnose?

B) How do we control?

A

A) CS ad PM

B) Hygiene, prophylactic AB, depop

25
Q

What should we check for with water deprivation?

A

•Problems with water supply common

–Also suspect if many cystitis cases

–“discharges”

•Check function of all parts of water systems

–Header tanks, lines (scale, rust etc), drinkers

–Frozen pipes

26
Q

Oedema disease:

A) When does it occur?

B) Name clinical signs

A

A) 7-10 days

B)

  • Sudden death, swollen eyelids, ataxia, recumbency, depression,
  • Change in squeak – laryngeal oedema
27
Q

What causes oedema disease?

A
  • an intestinal infection with E. coli – F18 fimbriae
  • These E. coli attach and produce shiga-like = vero toxins – VTe or STe
  • These cause a vasoactive toxaemia
  • Vascular damage causes gelatinous oedema
28
Q

How can we diagnose oedema disease?

A
  • Culture VTEC from intestine
  • Look for other distinctive signs
  • Eyelid oedema
  • Stomach wall oedema (greater curvature)
29
Q

How can we treat oedema disease?

A
  • Use antibiotics such as neomycin in feed and water after weaning – limited effect
  • Zinc oxide in feed controls E. coli toxins

(EU now banned)

30
Q

What virus causes Aujeszkys disease?

A

Herpes

31
Q

What are the signs of Aujeskys disease. (include those in older)

A
  • Usually encephalitis in baby pigs
  • Incoordination, spasms, paddling
  • High mortality common
  • But outbreaks may involve pigs up to 14 weeks old
  • Older pigs can show locomotor changes – goose stepping, run nose on floor, rabid biting, odd posture
32
Q

Aujesky’s disease:

A) What else can they show?

B) How do we diagnose?

C) How can we prevent?

A

A) Rhinitis, tonsilitis and pneumonia

B) Serology, histology and virology

C) Vaccine

33
Q

Porcine Teschen virus disease:

A) Which virus?

B) Where is it common?

C) What happens inthe UK?

D) What causes subclinical?

A

A) Teschovirus

B) Eat EU

C) Notify

D) Enterovirus

34
Q

A) What is seen with Porcine Teschen virus disease?

B) How do we diagnose?

A

A) Baby pigs <2wks old

  • Ataxia, paralysis
  • Paddling, tremors, deaths
  • No gross lesions

B) Brain histology and virology

•Serology – paired samples

35
Q

A) What is a congenital tremor?

B) When do signs devvelop?

C) Why might they die?

A

A)

  • Sporadic disease seen in newborn pigs, evident by tremors and shaking of the muscles, of the head and body
  • Hypomyelinogenesis and muscle tremor

B) 3 days

C) Can’t suckle

36
Q

What are the 4 groups of congenital tremors based on histology?

A

Group 1 - associated with a classical swine fever.

Group 2 - possibly associated with a recently recognised circovirus and involving both circoviruses types 1 and 2 simultaneously. Most of the problems in the field are found in this group.

Groups 3 and 4 - associated with either hereditary disorders seen in the Landrace or Saddleback breeds or with organophosphorus poisoning.

Group 4 - includes aujeszky’s disease and Japanese encephalomyelitis virus

37
Q

Hypoglycaemia:

A) Where is it a common cause of mortality?

B) How does it come about?

A

A) Newborns

B) Low blood glucose due to inadequate milk intake

•Little fat reserves at birth so quickly become hypoglycaemic if don’t suckle

38
Q

What are the signs of hypoglycaemia?

A

Weakness, ataxia, hypothermia, fitting opisthotonus, champing of jaws

39
Q

Hypoglycaemia:

A) How can we diagnose?

B) How can we treat?

A

A) CS, blood glucose <2.8mmol/L

B) 15ml 20% Glucose solution IP q4-6hrs

40
Q

Name two of the rarer causes of neuro problems in pigs (3)

A
41
Q

How does water deprivation/salt poisoning come about?

A
  • High salt diets (rare) or rapid rehydration following water deprivation (common)
  • Localised to area of farm affected by water delivery issue – one side of a shed !
  • When water becomes available, it enters the brain causing cerebral oedema and raised intracranial pressure.
42
Q

What are the clinical signs of Water deprivation/salt poisoning?

A

•Variable, recumbency, convulsions, ataxia, dog sitting, pigs very agitated

43
Q

Water deprivation/salt poisoning:

A) How do we treat?

B) How do we control?

A

A) SLOW rehydration, poor prognosis if severe

B) Adequate water supplies and warning systems for failure.

Farm Animal Final Year (131 decks)

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