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Menegatt JCO, Perosa FF, Gris AH, Piva MM, Serena GC, Bordignon DL, Reck C, Menin Á, Watanabe TTN, Driemeier D. Main Causes of Death in Piglets from Different Brazilian Nursery Farms Based on Clinical, Microbiological, and Pathological Aspects. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3819. [PMID: 38136857 PMCID: PMC10740839 DOI: 10.3390/ani13243819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Necropsies can reveal herd problems or comorbidities that can lead to management corrections, improvements in animal performance, and better decision making. Furthermore, the pattern and causes of mortality might differ when different systems are evaluated. The present study was conducted to establish the main causes of death in nursery pigs from different systems in Brazil, as well as the clinical, microbiological, and pathological aspects of these mortalities. Eighteen nurseries were analyzed (a total of 120,243 housed piglets), and 557 necropsies were performed. Streptococcus suis infection was the most prevalent cause of death (21.2%), followed by bacterial polyserositis (16.7%), chronic atrophic enteritis (13.5%), salmonellosis (8.8%), pneumonia (8.6%), and colibacillosis (6.1%). The increase in mortality rate in individual nurseries and, consequently, in the diagnoses was commonly associated with disease outbreaks. Infectious diseases constituted the largest portion of the diagnoses, making a great opportunity for improving production rates in herds. Moreover, the extensive range of observed diagnoses highlights the importance of conducting preliminary diagnostic investigations based on necropsy to determine the causes of death. This approach allows for the direction of complementary tests, which can diagnose agents with greater specificity. As a result, this allows for the implementation of more effective prevention and control strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Carlo Olivo Menegatt
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Fernanda Felicetti Perosa
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Anderson Hentz Gris
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Manoela Marchezan Piva
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Guilherme Carvalho Serena
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Diego Luiz Bordignon
- Cargill Alimentos Ltd.a., Av. José Bonifácio Coutinho Nogueira, 150, Campinas 13091-611, SP, Brazil;
| | - Carolina Reck
- VERTÀ Laboratórios, Instituto de Pesquisa e Diagnóstico Veterinário, Av. Lions, 1380—Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Curitibanos 89520-000, SC, Brazil; (C.R.); (Á.M.)
| | - Álvaro Menin
- VERTÀ Laboratórios, Instituto de Pesquisa e Diagnóstico Veterinário, Av. Lions, 1380—Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Curitibanos 89520-000, SC, Brazil; (C.R.); (Á.M.)
- Departamento de Biociências e Saúde Única, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, R. Germano A. Souza, Curitibanos 89520-000, SC, Brazil
| | - Tatiane Terumi Negrão Watanabe
- Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA;
- Antech Diagnostics, West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064, USA
| | - David Driemeier
- Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9090, Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil; (F.F.P.); (A.H.G.); (M.M.P.); (G.C.S.); (D.D.)
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Eriksen EØ, Kudirkiene E, Barington K, Goecke NB, Blirup-Plum SA, Nielsen JP, Olsen JE, Jensen HE, Pankoke K, Larsen LE, Liu G, Pedersen KS. An observational field study of porcine post-weaning diarrhea: clinical and microbiological findings, and fecal pH-measurements as a potential diagnostic tool. Porcine Health Manag 2023; 9:33. [PMID: 37434248 DOI: 10.1186/s40813-023-00325-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recently, in-feed medicinal zinc has been phased out in pig production in the European Union. This makes updated knowledge about porcine post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) crucial. The objectives of the present study were to investigate (i) the clinical presentation of PWD in pigs housed in Danish herds that did not use medicinal zinc, specifically the prevalence of diarrhea and whether PWD was associated to clinical signs of dehydration or altered body temperature; (ii) which microorganism are associated to PWD; and iii) whether measurements of the fecal pH have a potential to be used diagnostically to differentiate between infectious etiologies in cases of PWD. RESULTS The prevalence of diarrhea varied considerably between the outbreaks in the nine studied herds (median = 0.58, range = 0.10; 0.94). In a cross-sectional design (n = 923), diarrhea was associated with reduced rectal temperature and alkaline feces. Diarrhea was also associated with observably reduced skin elasticity, possibly indicating dehydration. In both diarrheic case pigs (n = 87) and control pigs (n = 86), the presence of Brachyspira pilosicoli, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium spp., Cystoisopora suis, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Lawsonia intracellularis, porcine circovirus types 2 and 3, rotavirus A, B, C, and H, Samonella enterica spp. enterica, and Trichuris suis was described. PWD was associated with high levels of enterotoxigenic E. coli shedding (odds ratio versus no E. coli detection = 4.79 [CI 1.14; 12.62]). Diarrhea was associated with high levels of rotavirus A shedding (odds ratio versus no/low rotavirus A = 3.80 [CI 1.33; 7.97]). The association between microbiological findings in diarrheic pigs and fecal pH was negligible. CONCLUSIONS Enterotoxigenic E. coli was confirmed to be a cause of PWD; however, cases of PWD where enterotoxigenic E. coli was not detected in high levels occurred commonly, and this adds to the increasing evidence suggesting that PWD is not necessarily a result of enteric colibacillosis. Rotaviral enteritis might be a differential diagnosis of PWD. pH-measurements cannot be used to differentiate between differential diagnoses for PWD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esben Østergaard Eriksen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Egle Kudirkiene
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Kristiane Barington
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Nicole Bakkegård Goecke
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Sophie Amalie Blirup-Plum
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Jens Peter Nielsen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - John Elmerdahl Olsen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Henrik Elvang Jensen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Karen Pankoke
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Lars Erik Larsen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Gang Liu
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Ken Steen Pedersen
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 15, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Ø-Vet A/S, Køberupvej 33, 4700, Næstved, Denmark
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