Effects of bovine colostrum on performance, survival, and immunoglobulin status of suckling piglets during the first days of life

Supplementation of bovine colostrum (BC) has shown to improve growth performance, intestinal development, and immune response in early-weaned pigs. Little is known about whether BC may have similar effects in neonatal piglets. In the present study, the effect of BC supplementation on mortality, growth performance, and blood parameters (plasma proteins and white blood count) of suckling piglets in the first 10 days of life was investigated under practical conditions with special emphasis on low birth weight piglets. In total, 258 newborn piglets from 30 multiparous sows in a commercial breeding unit were randomly assigned to two different treatment groups. Piglets received either 1 ml of BC orally on days 1-3 of life (group BC, n = 128) or 1 ml of saline (0.9%) (control (CON) group; n = 130). Body weight was measured on days 1, 4, and 10 of life. Blood was collected on days 1 and 4 from 60 piglets per group. No differences in mortality, body weight, and average daily weight gain were observed between treatment groups in days 1-10. However, compared to CON, particularly in low birth weight piglets the administration of BC supported (P < 0.01) their survival. Group BC exhibited lower plasma total protein (P = 0.03) and beta-globulin (P = 0.02) concentrations compared to group CON. In conclusion, BC improved low and normal birth weight piglets' survival during their first 10 days of life. Further research is needed to clarify whether the survival rate is related to earlier gut closure indicated by lower plasma protein levels, which might be beneficial due to a lower uptake of potential antigenic substances

Effects of bovine colostrum on performance, survival, and immunoglobulin status of suckling piglets during the first days of life

Supplementation of bovine colostrum (BC) has shown to improve growth performance, intestinal development, and immune response in early-weaned pigs. Little is known about whether BC may have similar effects in neonatal piglets. In the present study, the effect of BC supplementation on mortality, growth performance, and blood parameters (plasma proteins and white blood count) of suckling piglets in the first 10 days of life was investigated under practical conditions with special emphasis on low birth weight piglets. In total, 258 newborn piglets from 30 multiparous sows in a commercial breeding unit were randomly assigned to two different treatment groups. Piglets received either 1 ml of BC orally on days 1-3 of life (group BC, n = 128) or 1 ml of saline (0.9%) (control (CON) group; n = 130). Body weight was measured on days 1, 4, and 10 of life. Blood was collected on days 1 and 4 from 60 piglets per group. No differences in mortality, body weight, and average daily weight gain were observed between treatment groups in days 1-10. However, compared to CON, particularly in low birth weight piglets the administration of BC supported (P < 0.01) their survival. Group BC exhibited lower plasma total protein (P = 0.03) and beta-globulin (P = 0.02) concentrations compared to group CON. In conclusion, BC improved low and normal birth weight piglets' survival during their first 10 days of life. Further research is needed to clarify whether the survival rate is related to earlier gut closure indicated by lower plasma protein levels, which might be beneficial due to a lower uptake of potential antigenic substances

Update on Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ‐ knowledge, gaps and challenges

Porcine pleuropneumonia, caused by the bacterial porcine respiratory tract pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, leads to high economic losses in affected swine herds in most countries of the world. Pigs affected by peracute and acute disease suffer from severe respiratory distress with high lethality. The agent was first described in 1957 and, since then, knowledge about the pathogen itself, and its interactions with the host, has increased continuously. This is, in part, due to the fact that experimental infections can be studied in the natural host. However, the fact that most commercial pigs are colonized by this pathogen has hampered the applicability of knowledge gained under experimental conditions. In addition, several factors are involved in development of disease, and these have often been studied individually. In a DISCONTOOLS initiative, members from science, industry and clinics exchanged their expertise and empirical observations and identified the major gaps in knowledge. This review sums up published results and expert opinions, within the fields of pathogenesis, epidemiology, transmission, immune response to infection, as well as the main means of prevention, detection and control. The gaps that still remain to be filled are highlighted, and present as well as future challenges in the control of this disease are addressed