Prevalence of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome in pigs sired by 13 Hungarian Landrace boars

Short Communication: Birdsfoot trefoil as a preventative treatment for gastrointestinal nematodes in pastured dairy heifers

Shepley, E., Vasseur, E., Bergeron, R., Villeneuve, A. and Lachance, S. 2015. Short Communication: Birdsfoot trefoil as a preventative treatment for gastrointestinal nematodes in pastured dairy heifers. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 533–537. Bioactive forages, such as birdsfoot trefoil, may serve as an alternative to anthelmintic drugs in pastured dairy heifers. Differences in parasite burden and growth were examined between eight treatment heifers fed a birdsfoot trefoil mixture and nine control heifer fed alfalfa silage 45-min per day for 12 wk. A significant 3.8- to 9.4-fold reduction in fecal egg counts was observed for treatment heifers at weeks 5, 9, 11 and 12. No treatment effect was found for weight gain. Our results suggest that birdsfoot trefoil may reduce parasite fecal egg counts in pastured dairy heifers without detrimental impact on growth.

Porcine circovirus type 2 infection before and during an outbreak of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome on a pig farm in the UK

The presence of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) and other pathogens before and during an outbreak of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PWMS) in pigs is evaluated in this study. At the time of the outbreak on a large commercial pig farm in the UK, serum samples and data were collected in two independent on-going research projects, one in weaned pigs and the other in sows. Serum samples of growing pigs and sows were PCV-2-antibody and PCR positive before and during the PMWS outbreak. Upon sequencing, PCV-2 isolates collected before the outbreak were identified as PCV-2a, and isolates collected during the outbreak were identified as PCV-2b, suggesting a shift of PCV-2 genotypes present on the farm. Pigs in the weaner study were from sows originating from different breeders and an association of sow origin and PCV-2 serostatus in offspring was found. Further, pigs had higher odds to be PCV-2 antigen positive if the sow was PCV-2 antibody positive around farrowing, the sow was of higher parity, and were less likely to test antigen positive if the sow was sourced from a particular breeder. The findings of this study highlight the potential role of the immune status of the sow on the occurrence of PMWS.