A Review of Segregated Early Weaning

Segregated early weaning is the process of taking baby pigs from the farrowing crate at an early age and then rearing them in a different building on the farm, or better yet, at an off-site nursery. This group of pigs is then raised segregated from the rest of the pigs on the farm in an all-in/all-out fashion. This method of rearing pigs was developed in an effort to minimize the transmission of infectious diseases from the dams to their offspring. If this goal can be accomplished and segregation of the group maintained, these pigs will have less disease pressure in the nursery, the grower, and the finisher and thus reach market weight sooner and more economically. This is important considering the current hog market trend of decreasing profit margins

A Review of Segregated Early Weaning

Segregated early weaning is the process of taking baby pigs from the farrowing crate at an early age and then rearing them in a different building on the farm, or better yet, at an off-site nursery. This group of pigs is then raised segregated from the rest of the pigs on the farm in an all-in/all-out fashion. This method of rearing pigs was developed in an effort to minimize the transmission of infectious diseases from the dams to their offspring. If this goal can be accomplished and segregation of the group maintained, these pigs will have less disease pressure in the nursery, the grower, and the finisher and thus reach market weight sooner and more economically. This is important considering the current hog market trend of decreasing profit margins.</p

Diagnosis of \u3ci\u3ePorcine teschovirus\u3c/i\u3e encephalomyelitis in the Republic of Haiti

In February and March 2009, approximately 1,500 backyard pigs of variable age became sick, and approximately 700 of them died or were euthanized in the Lower Artibonite Valley and the Lower Plateau of the Republic of Haiti. The main clinical sign was posterior ataxia followed by paresis and/or paralysis on the second or third day of illness. No gross lesions were observed at postmortem examinations. The morbidity and mortality were approximately 60% and 40%, respectively. Diagnostic samples (whole blood, brain, tonsil, lymph nodes, spleen, and lung) were negative for Classical swine fever virus and African swine fever virus. Porcine teschovirus type 1 was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions in brain samples. Results of virus isolation, electron microscopy of virus particles, histopathological analysis on brain tissues, nucleic acid sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis of the viral isolate supported the diagnosis of teschovirus encephalomyelitis. The outbreak of the disease in Haiti is the first appearance of the severe form of teschovirus encephalomyelitis in the Americas. This disease poses a potential threat to the swine industries in other Caribbean countries, as well as to Central and North American countries