Estimation of the prevalence of respiratory diseases in pigs in north-eastern Poland: Survey of pulmonary lesions in pigs at a slaughterhouse

Abstract

A total of 29 520 animals, from 164 batches of pigs belonging to an identical number of herds, were involved in the study. The considered population of pigs were limited to the region of north-eastern Poland involving six voivodeships. From each herd, samples of blood were collected to evaluate the antibody titres to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, Aujeszky’s disease virus and swine influenza virus. At an abattoir, the lung lesions of each batch were scored and the enzootic pneumonia-like lesion average value was calculated. Lesions, indicative of enzootic pneumonia, were found in 57.8% of the lungs. For all lungs, the enzootic pneumonia-like lesion average value was 1.74, ranging from 0.42 to 3.56 among the 164 batches. In the examined pig population, 57.8% were considered suffering from swine respiratory disease, the majority of the affected pigs came from the Podlaskie (21.7%) and Greater Poland (17.25%) voivodeships. In the most affected voivodeships, 88.37% and 85.16% of the farms were considered as disease-susceptible for Greater Poland and Podlaskie, respectively. The findings indicate that, in pigs in north-eastern Poland, the major pathogens causing pneumonia-like lesions are Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (68.9%) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (44%).

Association between Enzootic Pneumonia-like Lung Lesions and Carcass Quality and Meat pH Value in Slaughter Pigs

“…This proportion is likely higher than in the average population, as the selected farms had clinical signs of respiratory disease. The prevalence of pigs with different degrees of lung lesions was comparable to results reported by other authors in Europe [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 40 ]. However, it is challenging to relate such data between reports because of the several sources of variation that exist [ 41 ], and the high prevalence of documented conditions may indicate a need for improvements in the control and further monitoring of the investigated diseases in Polish pig herds.…”

“…Generally, the prevalence of respiratory disease ranges from 19% to 74% in pigs. This large variation may depend on the study population (country and characteristics of selected farms) and the lung lesion scoring system used [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae), Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A. pleuropneumoniae), porcine circovirus (PCV), swine influenza viruses (SIV), and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) are the This study was conducted on pigs from 102 different, randomly selected herds from 102 different farms with similar housing conditions.…”

Comparing Visual-Only and Visual-Palpation Post-Mortem Lung Scoring Systems in Slaughtering Pigs

“…Within this context, broncho-pneumonic lesions, also known as Enzootic Pneumonia (EP)-like lesions, are the most prevalent ones. These EP-like lesions are characterized by purple to grey pulmonary consolidation areas and are mostly located in the cranioventral areas of the lungs [17].…”

Florfenicol 40% efficacy in piglets with respiratory pathologies

“…Respiratory diseases are the main causes of production losses in global pig breeding [6,7,9]. This study provides the therapeutic efficacy of a novel amphenicol chemotherapy, a florfenicol-based antibacterial veterinary drug for respiratory infectious pathologies in pigs.…”