Page 325 of articles about health

Since 1987, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRS) has become a global drain on pig productivity, profitability, and many a producers’ morale. One thing that remains certain is PRRS virus continually finds ways to circumvent our best bio-management efforts. PRRS marches on in a ceaseless continuum of antigenic change making current vaccines and other control techniques of limited value.

The decrease in the contact time between the mother and her piglets, due to the common practice of early weaning, has led to the appearance of some piglets that are not completely colonised or that have not acquired a sufficient level of maternal antibodies. On mixing with other litters, these piglets are faced with distinct strains while lacking the necessary antibodies against the disease.

In the diagnosis of nervous conditions it is difficult to establish initially, whether the problems lie in the bones, joints, muscles, or tendons or nerves. We should rule out anatomical or pathological problems in the former four systems before we assume we are dealing with nervous system problems.