G85-748 Prevention and Control of Swine Dysentery

This NebGuide describes the causes and symptoms of swine dysentery and offers management recommendations and treatment procedures for its prevention and control. Swine dysentery is a highly contagious disease of growing and finishing pigs. First described in Indiana in 1921, it has been called black scours, bloody scours, and vibrionic dysentery. Swine dysentery causes important financial losses because of reduced feed efficiency and lower weight gain, costs of medication and additional animal care, and death. Substantial costs may result from loss of sales of breeding stock, or depopulation when necessary. Serpula (Treponema) hyodysenteriae, a spiral bacterium, is the cause of swine dysentery, and seven different types have been recognized worldwide. Types 1 and 2 are the most common in the United States

Shoulder Ulcers in Sows

A literature review was conducted on shoulder ulcers in sows. Shoulder ulcers are caused by pressure that the shoulder blade exerts against tissues that overlie it. Those issues lose blood supply and die. Because the pressure is directed outward, tissue damage occurs before the ulcer is evident on the skin surface. Ulcer prevalence is highly variable; 0 to more than 20% of the sows in 218 herds evaluated had shoulder ulcers. Ulcers usually develop during late gestation and early lactation and many heal shortly after weaning. Numerous risk factors for developing shoulder ulcers have been identified. Inactivity and thin sow body condition seem to be the most important ulcer risk factors. Thus, farrowing caretakers may be able to prevent ulcers by carefully monitoring each sow’s lying behavior and attempting to fix any problem that restricts movement. Checking the gestation and lactation feeding programs to ensure that sows enter the farrowing area in proper body condition also may prevent ulcers. Experience from Denmark indicates a pad fixed to the shoulder of sows at the first sign of redness in the skin may prevent ulcers too. Sows starting to develop an ulcer benefit from treatment of underlying issues that cause inactivity, daily application of a topical disinfectant, early weaning and movement to a hospital pen, or a rubber mat to lie on in the farrowing crate. Close observation and appropriate care of sows especially around the time of farrowing should keep the incidence of shoulder ulcers low in the pork industry

Teeth Clipping — Have You Tried to Quit?

Results from several experiments were reviewed to collect information on the value of piglet “needle-teeth” clipping. The incidence of facial and udder lesions generally is increased when teeth are left intact. However, there is no evidence that these lesions affect piglet mortality or weaning weight. Thus, based on the conditions of these experiments, there is no strong justification for teeth clipping. Many producers have abandoned teeth clipping. Besides saving labor, they report having fewer poor doing piglets and joint infections that can result from teeth clipping. Some producers have tried to stop clipping, but because of greasy pig disease problems they have resumed. Producers who have not tried to stop clipping are advised to clip only half of the litters in a few farrowing groups and observe for possible problems

G92-1093 Use of Animal Drugs in Livestock Management

How to handle antibiotics and other drugs to prevent residues in meat while maintaining an effective animal health program. Use of animal drugs in food animal production must be accepted as a responsibility rather than a right when trying to improve animal health. Drugs should be used to enhance a health program and not as a substitute for good management. Disease prevention is based on good nutritional and environmental factors, sanitation, and the use of a complete herd health program. Use of vaccines for common diseases and in some cases segregation or culling of infected animals is important. Good management practices improve environment, prevent animal stress that leads to disease, and generally reduce the need for drugs

Effect of Antimicrobial Dosage Regimen on Salmonella and Escherichia coli Isolates from Feeder Swine▿

A body of evidence exists that suggests that antimicrobial use in food animals leads to resistance in both pathogenic and commensal bacteria. This study focused on the impact of three different antimicrobial regimes (low-level continuous, pulse, and no antimicrobial) for two antimicrobials (chlortetracycline and tylosin) on the presence of Salmonella spp. and on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of both Salmonella spp. and nonspecific Escherichia coli in fecal samples from feeder swine. The prevalence of fecal samples positive for Salmonella spp. significantly decreased between the samples taken at feeder placement compared to samples taken when the animals were close to market weight. Differences in resistance of Salmonella spp. did not appear to be influenced by dosing treatment including the control. Analysis of antimicrobial resistance examining both susceptibility and resistance, as well as MIC outcomes, demonstrated that only resistance to cephalothin increased in E. coli under the pulse chlortetracycline treatment. These results suggest that the dosing regimes examined in this study did not lead to an increase in either the prevalence of Salmonella spp. or the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in isolates of Salmonella spp. or E. coli

Outcome following treatment of vertebral tumors in 20 dogs (1986-1995)

Twenty dogs with histopathologically confirmed primary (n=15) or metastatic (n=5) osteosarcoma (n=14) or fibrosarcoma (n=6) of the vertebral column were treated with surgery (n=4), radiation therapy and chemotherapy (n=6), surgery and chemotherapy (n=2), or surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (n=8). All dogs died due to their disease; 15 died due to local failure, and five died due to nonvertebral metastasis. Overall median survival time was 135 days, with a range of 15 to 600 days. Of the factors evaluated, only postoperative neurological status had a significant influence on outcome by multivariate analysis. This study supports the overall guarded prognosis for dogs with vertebral neoplasia. Better combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy remain to be defined for this difficult subset of animal cancer

EC92-219 Nebraska Swine Report

This 1992 Nebraska Swine Report was prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating departments for use in the Extension and Teaching programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Authors from the following areas contributed to this publication: Swine Nutrition, swine diseases, pathology, economics, engineering, swine breeding, meats, agronomy, and diagnostic laboratory. It covers the following areas: breeding, disease control, feeding, nutrition, economics, housing and meats