Page 111 of articles about swine-diseases

PRRS Eradication: A dream or missed opportunity?

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.

Use of Oligosaccharides in Swine Nutrition

Our research model has been a short chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) fed to swine. This compound was selected because it was identified in human and swine milk, was shown to have health benefits in human infants and patients recovering from intestinal anastomosis. The health benefit was believed to occur via the trophic effect of scFOS on the Bifidobacteria population.

Immunity and serotype

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.

Differential diagnosis of nervous diseases in the pig

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.

Epidemiology and typing

It is important to be able to identify the distinct circulating strains and to differentiate between the strains that are merely colonisers and those that have the capacity to produce disease. With this aim various methods of classification of strains or “typing” of H. parasuis have been developed.

Russia - 10 pig farms in the Bryanskaya Oblast suspended operations

24-Aug-2009
Taking into account a high risk of spreading infectious farm animal disease agents the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for the Bryanskaya and Smolenskaya Oblasts has carried out inspections of pig farms in the Bryanskaya Oblast paying particular attention to the observance of veterinary and sanitary rules for the prevention of African swine fever introduction to pig farms.

Laboratory diagnosis

When the clinical signs on the farm and the lesions observed in the piglets lead us to suspect that there is a Haemophilus parasuis infection we have to confirm this diagnosis in the laboratory

EU - A/H1N1 virus rears its ugly head in… pigs

11-Aug-2009
Researchers in Germany have added a twist to the pandemic currently affecting humans: the influenza virus A/H1N1 has been shown to be infectious in pigs and to spread quickly in a trial pig population. Published in The Journal of General Virology, the results of the study are part of the EU-funded EPIZONE ('Network on epizootic disease diagnosis and control') project, which is supported under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to the tune of EUR 14 million.

Germany - Porcine brucellosis outbreak

04-Aug-2009
The German veterinary authorities have informed the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of porcine brucellosis (Brucella suis). The report covers a case of brucellosis at Melz in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It involved a farm with 4019 pigs, of which 22 died.