Background: Post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) is a significant gastrointestinal disease in pigs. It is
considered a multifactorial disease associated with proliferation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
in the intestinal tract of affected pigs. The aim of this study was to analyse risk factors related to
the occurrence of PWD on Finnish piglet producing farms.
Methods: The data of a follow-up study of 73 conventional piglet producing farms was used in the
case-control study. The selection of the 41 PWD case and 28 control farms was based on the use
of antimicrobials for treating diarrhoea in weaned pigs and the answers related to the occurrence
of diarrhoea after weaning in the questionnaire. Four intermediate farms were excluded from the
statistical analysis.
Altogether 39 factors related to herd characteristics, weaner pig management and pig health were
studied. The median number of sows was 59.0 (IQR = 44.0; 74.5) and 52.5 (IQR = 36.8; 61.5) on
the case and the control farms, respectively.
The significances of the univariable associations between the explanatory variables and the
outcome variable were tested, and in the multivariate analysis quasibinomial generalized linear
models were applied.
Results: An increased risk of PWD was associated with the regimen of twice a day feeding and
feed restriction after weaning (P = 0.02; compared to feeding three or more meals a day or the use
of ad libitum feeding) and with a higher number of sows on the farm (P = 0.02; risk increasing with
increasing number of sows). Automatic temperature control was associated with a decreased risk
of PWD (P = 0.03; compared to manual temperature control).
Conclusion: Twice a day feeding of newly-weaned pigs should be avoided if the amount of feed
given is restricted. Variation in ambient temperature should be minimized in housing of newlyweaned
pigs and this can be achieved by using automatic temperature control. With increasing
number of sows in the herds the risk of PWD increases and more attention should be paid to
prevention of post-weaning diarrhoea
