Post-Weaning Disease- Pigs

Question 1

These two diseases cause gray to yellow mucoid diarrhea, that can become mucohemorrhagic, pigs will present with tail twitching, gaunt, and dehydrated. What do you suspect?

Answer 1

• Swine Dysentary (Brachyspira hyodysenteriae), Spirochetal Colitis (Brachyspira pilosicoli)
• transmitted from ingestion of infected fecal material, organisms persists long periods in moist environments, can be shed by mice and dogs
• SC is milder
• Dx: C.S., PM lesions, culture from rectal swabs/colonic scrape
• prevent by bringing in replacement pigs from SD herds after 30-60 days of quarantine
• elimination- early weaning to clean site, extensive meds, cull debilitated animals, depopulation and through cleaning and disinfections
• vaccine ineffective

Question 2

This disease may serve as a source of human infection in pork, asymptomatic animals have persistent infection in tonsils, intestines, lymph nodes and gall bladder and can shed in feces and transmitted via fecal oral route , C.S. most commonly seen after stressful events.

Answer 2

• Salmonellosis
• Septicemic salmonellosis (cholerasuis) causes acute death in apparently unthrifty pigs- high mortality- inappetence, depression, huddling, weakness, high temp,cyanosis
• Enterotoxic- anorexia and watery to yellow diarrhea, if they survive either emaciated or slow to gain weight
• diagnosis: culture and id from organ sample, serotyping
• control: good management
• tx: antibiotics

Question 3

A farm is experiencing acute diarrhea with brownish to black unclotted blood, the pigs become week, and then rapidly die. On PM, hyperplastic crypt enterocytes are found what is this disease and how do you treat?

Answer 3

• Porcine proliferative enteritis- Lawsonia intracellularis
• acute cases: diarrhea and rapid death
• chronic cases: grower pigs, sporadic diarrhea, wasting, variation in growth rate
• difficult to eliminate, minimize stress
• tx: tylosin

Question 4

A group of 14 week old piglets in a crowded barn are going stiff with a high temperature, and then rapidly dying. You perform a PCR on a tissue sample and discover the exotoxin APXI, what is your diagnosis?

Answer 4

• Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae
• has 4 exotoxins: APXI, APXII, APXIII, APXIV
• transmitted through direct contact via nasal secretions, short distance via aerosol
• transmitted by overstocking, inadequate ventilation, coinfection, stress
• in acute outbreaks– sudden death
• dx: isolation and id are confirmatory, PCR of toxins, serology
  tx: antimicrobials parenteral or in water or feed

Question 5

You go out to a farm because a farmer reports that his pigs faces look funny (distorted) and they look like they have brown tears. What do you suspect?

Answer 5

• Atropic rhinitis- Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida
• in early stages- nasal symptoms with may progress to atrophy and distortion of terminates, and nasal and facial bones of some pigs
• bordetella predisposes to pasteurella infection, isolated from tonsils of animals, dermonecrotizing toxin causes marked terbinate atrophy
• dust and ammonia are predisposing factors, prevention by good management
• rhinitis obstructs tear flow- will see dirty hair below canthus as well as possible snout deformity, secondary respiratory disease
• control: husbandry, management, ventilation, vaccination, antimicrobials not very effective