Mycoplasma suis infection in suckling pigs on a Belgian farm

Mycoplasma suis (formerly known as Eperythrozoon suis) is an epicellular bacterium that affects porcine red blood cells. M. suis infections occur worldwide and are associated with weakness and anemia in suckling and weaned pigs, and reproductive disorders in sows. The present field report describes the detection of M. suis in anemic piglets originating from a Belgian farrow-to-finish herd. The herd was experiencing increased piglet mortality (16%) in the farrowing unit and had a high percentage of repeat breeders (22%). A control program using antimicrobials and hygienic and sanitary measures significantly decreased the number of clinically anemic piglets and the mortality rate in the farrowing unit. However, it did not have any significant influence on the reproductive failure of the farm. The lack of a significant effect on reproductive failure was probably due to the circulation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) on the farm

An outbreak of sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever in sows

his paper describes a case of malignant catarrhal fever in a sow herd in Belgium caused by infection with ovine herpesvirus-2 (OHV-2). The 11 affected sows had high fever and 10 of them died within 3 days after the onset of clinical disease. The most prominent macroscopic lesion was a hemorrhagic to pseudo-membranous gastritis. Histopathology revealed severe infiltration and necrosis of the gastric mucosa. Neither antimicrobial treatment nor injection with anti-inflammatory drugs ameliorated the severity of the disease. As the sows and sheep were housed in the same building with the possibility of having direct nose-to-nose contact, and as PCR testing showed that the virus found in the sows was identical to that found in the sheep, it is very likely that the infection was transmitted from the subclinically infected sheep to the sows. The present case showed that OHV-2 infection should be included in the differential diagnosis when facing problems of fever followed by death, especially when pigs are housed in close contact with sheep

Effects of post-weaning altrenogest treatment in primiparous sows

Major losses of body weight and fat reserves during the first lactation are a cause of unsatisfying reproductive performances in primiparous sows. This study, conducted in three commercial sow herds, investigated whether weaning the sows three days earlier together with administering altrenogest was effective for improving reproductive performance (weaning-to-estrus interval, pregnancy rate after first insemination, total litter size and number of live born piglets in the second litter) and body condition. In the herds suffering from the second litter syndrome, a non-significant improvement of the second litter size was found with on average 1.9 extra piglets born. During the treatment period, the treated sows gained on average 1.4 mm back fat, while the control sows lost 0.4 rum back fat. In conclusion, the treatment is useful for putting the sows in better condition at the moment of insemination and it may possibly improve reproductive performance in farms with the second litter syndrome