Piglet mortality in organic herds

Productive performance of organic pig farms is lower compared to conventional farms, but only very few data exist. Better knowledge of the productivity of organic herds regarding litter size at birth, piglet losses around birth and during lactation, as well as housing and management conditions should help to identify critical points and hence to improve the situation. Therefore, a research project was initiated in 6 EU countries (Corepig). As part of this, farmers recorded production data during 3-11 months starting between January and July 2008. Farmers were asked to record the numbers of piglets born dead, born alive as well as the number of piglets at weaning. Taking into account the quality of the records and setting a threshold of ≥ 10 litters/farm, data from 38 farms in 4 countries (France: 14, Germany: 12, Austria: 7, Sweden: 5) were analyzed (mean: 69, 10 to 713 litters/farm). Most farmers were not present at farrowing, meaning the number of piglets that were classified as “born dead” was probably greatly overestimated. Therefore, mean total litter size at birth (born dead + born alive, MTLS), its standard deviation (SDLS), litter size at weaning and percentage of total losses (born dead + lactation losses, pLOSS) were calculated at the farm level. Overall, MTLS was 12.9 ± 1.6 piglets at birth, 9.2 ± 1.1 piglets at weaning and pLOSS was 26.7 ± 7.1 % with a lactation duration of 45.3 ± 5.9 days. Mortality of piglets increased with MTLS (2.1 ± 0.7% additional loss per piglet, p = 0.004) and with SDLS (3.9 ± 1.6% additional loss per unit of SDLS, mean ± SEM, P = 0.021). MTLS was correlated with SDLS (r = 0.44, p = 0.006). These data confirm the detrimental influence of large litter size at birth on piglet mortality. This is commonly observed in conventional pig production and related to a higher proportion of piglets with low birth weight and to increased competition for teats. High variability in litter size may exacerbate these problems, and in addition may be an indicator for other problems on the farm

Epidemiological study concerning the characteristics of organic pig farming in selected European countries

Interviews and on-farm assessments were conducted in a total of 101 organic pig farms in different European countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden) to gain knowledge about farm management and health status of organic pigs in Europe. 66 farms kept at least one age group outdoors while 35 farms kept their pigs exclusively indoors, for the most part with a concrete outside run. Housing and feeding conditions were characterised by a large heterogeneity within and between European countries. On many farms, the feeding regimes seemed suboptimal, leaving ample room for easily feasible improvements. With respect to the health management, some farms made comprehensive use of the various options, whereas many farmers neglected the implementation of preventive measures, including appropriate hygiene and disinfection measures. On the majority of organic farms with indoor housing, the options for disinfection were hindered by the fact that many farms were not able to implement an all-in all-out concept. In correspondence with the large variation in the living conditions for pigs, also production data and mortality rates differed widely between organic pig farms. According to the estimation by the farmer concerning the occurrence of selected animal health problems, mortality of suckling piglets and weaners and weaning diarrhoea were named as the most relevant disease problems. Although dedicated to the same minimum standards, it can be concluded that organic pig farming does not provide the same living conditions or a homogenous outcome of animal health parameters but, like all systems, also depends on the quality of management. Differences in management practices, housing conditions, restrictions in the availability of resources (labour time, financial budget etc.), and a lack of feedback and control mechanism within the farm system appears to be a main reason for the substantial variation between farms

Knowledge synthesis: Animal health and welfare in organic pig production - Final Report COREPIG

This report reviews the available information on the welfare of pigs when maintained according to organic standards in Europe. It begins by overviewing the populations of organic pigs in different countries at the time of writing (2007), the organic standards which govern their management and the systems in which they are typically kept. It then reviews for each stage in the production cycle (sows, suckling piglets, weaned pigs and fattening pigs) the available literature on health and welfare problems which might be experienced by the animals and the hazards which might give rise to these problems. Finally the report reviews the methods current available for the measurement of pig health and welfare and the extent to which monitoring systems currently exist in different countries, or might be developed. The information gathered in this review formed the basis for the subsequent development of tools for use in a HACCP based management and surveillance system for organic pig herds. These tools will assist the organic pig farmer to prevent selected pig diseases and welfare problems by monitoring and controlling the risk factors. Further details can be found on the COREPIG project website www.icrofs.org/coreorganic/corepig.htm

Classmates motivate childhood cancer patients to participate in physical activity during treatment: A qualitative study

Introduction Children with cancer experience reduced physical fitness and compromised social relationships during and following intensive treatment. This may negatively impact their quality of life. As part of the RESPECT study, we explored the motivations for participation in a physical activity programme during treatment. Methods Thirteen semi‐structured interviews were conducted with seven boys and six girls, diagnosed with paediatric cancer in 2013 and treated with chemotherapy (age 8–16 years; time from diagnosis to interview 6–16 months). Interviews were conducted in the children's homes. Results The qualitative analysis showed that children's motivations for engaging in the physical activity programme during intensive medical treatment were primarily influenced by (a) opportunity for physical activity with a classmate; (b) participation in group physical activity sessions; (c) support from significant others; and (d) improvement of physical well‐being. Main barriers included (a) poor physical well‐being; (b) compliance with medical procedures and being treated in protective isolation; and (c) limited physical activity facilities. Conclusion Despite barriers, it is possible to motivate and engage children with cancer in physical activity during intensive treatment in a paediatric oncology ward. Physical exercise and activity should be recommended and promoted from diagnosis throughout the treatment period and should include psychosocial and professional support

Metodutveckling för datainsamling i NILS landskapsruta

NILS är en stickprovsbaserad inventering som syftar till att producera information om miljön i Sverige. Resultaten används bland annat för nationell statistik och internationell rapportering liksom för forskning. Inventeringen baseras på åter-kommande inventering av 631 systematiskt utlagda samplingsenheter eller ”rutor” där varje ruta består av: en 1 km stor ruta som tolkas i detalj i IR-flygbilder, 12 provytor som besöks i fält, samt en 5 * 5 km stor ruta som skall ge information om omgivande landskap. Projektet har haft som syfte att undersöka möjligheter för att kartera NILS 5 km ruta med automatiska metoder som kan utföras med en begrän-sad tidståtgång. I denna rapport rapporteras försök med att använda optiska satellitdata från Landsat TM och SPOT HRG sensorerna, samt laserskannerdata från lantmäteriets nationella skanning för en ny nationell höjdmodell (NH). Viss förhandstolkning av ägoslagsgränser har gjorts i fotogrammetrisk arbetsstation. För att minska mängden manuellt arbete har möjligheterna att använda referensdata från NILS inventering-ens fältytor eller 1 km ruta, samt från Riksskogstaxeringen också undersökts. De väsentligaste resultaten redovisas nedan: Krontäckning och trädvegetationens höjd kan skattas från laserdata om re-ferensdata beräknas från Riksskogstaxeringens klavträd, eller bedöms i fo-togrammetrisk arbetsstation; däremot så var Riksskogstaxeringens fältbe-dömda krontäckningar inte lika bra referensdata. Busktäckning kunde inte skattas med laserskannerdata från Lantmäteriets nationella laserskanning, men har kunnat skattas i andra studier som gjorts med mera specialiserade skanningar, De referensytor som täcker en satellitregistrering sammanfaller i regel end-ast delvis med de referensytor som täcker lämpliga laserskannerdata för samma skattningsområde, ett stratifierat arbetssätt är därför att föredra. Lantmäteriets laserskanning i kombination med referensdata från Riks-skogstaxeringen lämpade sig därvid väl för att dela in landskapet i öppna och trädtäckta marker (i detta projekt definierades trädtäckta områden som områden med mer än 10% krontäckning och mer än 3 m trädhöjd). Inom trädtäckta områden kan en klassning i grova trädslagsklasser göras från kombinationen av satellitbilder och Riksskogstaxeringens ytor. För det öppna landskapet undersöktes om befintliga fältdata kunde använ-das för en grov markvegetationsklassning, men datamaterialet, både från NILS och Riksskogstaxeringen, blev för litet. Flygbildstolkningen från NILS 1 km ruta var inte heller lämplig för detta ändamål. Istället kan en speciell flygbildstolkning användas, där ytor subjektivt väljs speciellt för denna klassning. Ett klassningsschema utvecklades, där ett antal grova klasser blev slutresultate

Intercalibration of a concentration McMaster Technique between eight European laboratories

Prior to a European prevalence survey of intestinal parasites of organic pig herds it was decided to introduce one common technique for faecal egg counts and to compare its execution at all involved laboratories to ensure data compatibility. It was clearly shown that avoid confounding variation it is extremely important not only to use identical techniques but also to implement the technique in exactly the same way

Health status in organic pig herds in Europe

Introduction Organic pig production is still a small-scale produc-tion, achieving, however, increased interest by con-sumers who are concerned about the conventional production method. The EU-Regulation (EEC-No. 1804/1999) on organic livestock production, now replaced by EEC-No 834/2007, was introduced to provide a framework ensuring living conditions for organic livestock to be better than those in conven-tional systems and to harmonize the rules across member states. Scientifically based information on how and to what degree the EU-Regulation contrib¬utes to the objective of a high status of pig health in organic farming is scarce. Further information is needed to assess whether consumer expectations in organic pig production in Europe are met. MATERIAL AND METHODS An epidemiological study was performed on 101 organic sow herds in 6 European countries (Denmark, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy and France). 13 to 20 farms per country were assessed. On-farm data included a comprehensive interview with the herd manager in relation to housing conditions, feeding regime, data acquisition, cleaning and disinfection measures, medicine usage, culling reasons, vaccina¬tion protocols, etc.. Recorded livestock data included: liveborn and stillborn piglets/farrowing, weaned piglets/sow/year, piglet losses/farrowing, losses of weaned piglets, litters /sow lifetime, and the preva-lence of diseases according to the treatment records. Data from all countries were merged into one joint database and analysed statistically. Results Although dedicated to the same minimum standards, the farm structures were characterised by a huge heterogeneity. 67 farms were keeping their sows outdoors while 34 farms were indoors with outside runs. Group suckling was implemented on 52% of the farms. The degree of specialisation was compara¬tively low. About 40% of the farms had another eco¬nomically relevant livestock enterprise on the farm apart from keeping pigs. Farmers differed widely in their feeding regimes, in making use of phase feeding and diet calculations. Moreover, the farms varied in the cleaning management and in the implementation of disinfection measures. The study also revealed large differences in animal health management with respect to the use of quarantine, availability of hospi¬tal pens, presence of the farmer during farrowing, and regarding routine measures such as castration, teeth reduction, and iron supplementation of piglets. For 50 % of the farms the abattoirs provided feedback of pathological findings for slaughtered sows, and 80 % for fattening pigs. Huge differ-ences were detected in the perception of the farmers with regard to health problems on their farm and with respect to the availability of labo-ratory results. Mean mortality rates of piglets until and after weaning averaged 19.7 ± 9.7% and 4.9 ± 5.4% resp., showing clear differences between coun¬tries and farms. Mean values for the annual re¬placement rates of sows and litters per sow life-time were 32.4 ± 14.3% and 6.3 ± 2.3 resp. Ac-cording to the treatment records, metritis and mastitis appeared as the predominant diseases of the sows, nearly all treated with antibiotics, fol-lowed by cases of lameness and abscesses. In the case of suckling piglets, diarrhoea, arthritis and respiratory diseases were predominant. Also the weaned piglets suffered primarily from diarrhoea. Farms showed an incidence of 27.6 ± 34.3%. of piglets treated with antibiotics against diarrhoea. Conclusions The results indicated that in general the status of animal health in organic pig herds was compara¬ble to data found on conventional farms. Differ¬ences between farms appear to be greater than those between production methods. Obviously, the production method defined by standards does not provide a homogenous outcome with respect to the animal health status. Differences in man¬agement practices and in feedback and control mechanisms within the farm system might be the main reasons for substantial variation in the prevalence rates of diseases. Any improvements in organic pig production require the use of feed¬back mechanisms and a clear definition of the expected results with respect to the outcome of the farm system. Consequently, there is a need for a change in the paradigm from standard and resource oriented to a result and outcome ori¬ented approach. The implementation of a moni¬toring system including on farm clinical assess¬ment, abattoir data and review of treatment data, concepts to deal with potential problems (e.g. health planning strategies, HACCP protocols, etc.) and a definition of the expected results with respect to the output of the farm system might be a way forward for organic farming ensuring a high status of animal health and welfare

Reduced Fluoroquinolone Susceptibility in Salmonella enterica Isolates from Travelers, Finland

We tested the fluoroquinolone susceptibility of 499 Salmonella enterica isolates collected from travelers returning to Finland during 2003–2007. Among isolates from travelers to Thailand and Malaysia, reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility decreased from 65% to 22% (p = 0.002). All isolates showing nonclassical quinolone resistance were from travelers to these 2 countries