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Neonatal piglet mortality, especially in low-birth-weight (LBW) piglets, remains a major issue in pig farming. Many strategies to improve immune status as well as survival of LBW piglets have been evaluated over the years, including plasma or serum transfer. Overall, studies involving plasma or serum transfer in pigs and other species, eg, horses, have shown variable results. The current study was performed to determine if plasma transfer could be used effectively in commercial farms as a strategy to improve the overall health of LBW piglets and reduce mortality.
A total of 612 piglets (body weight 0.8 to 1.3 kg) from 212 dams (Large White × Landrace) were randomly allocated in equal numbers to one control and two treatment groups. Piglets were fostered 6 to 24 hours after birth to a foster sow and remained with that dam for the duration of the study. The litter size per foster dam ranged from nine to 14 (average approximately 11 piglets), with the number of piglets per foster dam dependant on teat availability. Piglets remained with the sow from birth until weaning at 28 days. Day 0 was the day of birth and Day 1 the first day of treatment. Piglets in the treatment groups received either two doses of plasma (10 mL on two separate occasions, Day 1 and Day 3) or one dose of plasma (10 mL on one occasion, Day 1) by intramuscular injection in four sites on the neck and hind legs, ie, 2.5 mL per site. On Day 1 and Day 3, control piglets received intramuscular injections of 10 mL of Hartmann’s solution. Plasma was obtained from Large White × Landrace donor sows from the same farm. Piglets were physically examined to assess their condition and weighed on Days 7, 14, and 21. Blood samples were obtained from piglets on Days 0, 2, and 6, and ELISA for detection of porcine IgG was performed on serum. Mortality in the three groups was recorded by one of the researchers daily after piglets were enrolled in the study.
The plasma administered in this study, when processed, had an estimated 30% loss of total immunoglobulins. The IgG concentration in the serum of the piglets was in the range of 17.1 to 21.6 mg per mL when measured at Day 2, and slowly declined to 14.1 to 18.4 mg per mL by Day 6 in both treatment groups and in the control group. Serum IgG concentrations did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups and the control group. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in weight gain between the two treatment groups and the control group. The average daily weight gain was 163.5 g in the group that received one dose of plasma, 164.0 g in the group that received two doses of plasma, and 163.9 g in the control group. The birth sow had an influence on the IgG concentrations in the piglet serum at all sampling points, with piglets from seven birth sows having significantly higher IgG concentrations than the others (P < .05). The highest mortality in piglets was recorded in those that received two doses of plasma, with most deaths occurring on Days 0, 1, and 2. By Day 21, 32.5% of piglets that received two doses of plasma, 26.6% of piglets that received one dose of plasma, and 26.5% of control piglets had died. The causes of death were poor vitality (41%), crushing by the sow (27%), and diarrhea (22%). Diarrhea was diagnosed by observation of watery stools; the causative organism of the condition was not determined.
The results of this study showed that administration of porcine plasma did not significantly affect LBW piglet weight gain or survival. Further studies are required to determine if plasma transfer used in conjunction with other farming practices can improve overall welfare and survival of LBW piglets.
Woon SY, Barton MD, Vanniasinkam T. Effect of plasma transfer on survival rates of low-birth-weight neonatal piglets. J Swine Health Prod. 2014;22(4):197–200.
