He pig sector has a production in Spain of more than 4,000 million euros year. This data represents the importance of the sector within Spanish production, sometimes affected by the expansion of diseases that limit the operating performance. The impact of these diseases on animal health can result in delayed growth and difficulty gaining weight, a fact that compromises production times.
One of the diseases with the greatest impact in the sector is porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE)better known as porcine ileitis. This animal pathology “affects the digestive system, especially the small intestine, and creates difficulty in the absorption of nutrients, especially proteins,” he explains. the veterinarian and Product Manager of MSD Animal Health Spain, Alfredo Romero, in an interview for Animalcare.
According to the veterinarian, the disease presentations They are different depending on the contact that the cattle has had with the pathogen. There may be a presentation acute or chronicthe first is the least frequent and may present mortality, the second is the most frequent and has a quite nonspecific symptomatology.
“The economic impact of chronic infection is greater than that of acute infection”
The animal’s production is affected differently, depending on whether it is an acute or chronic infection. “The economic impact of chronic infection is greater than that of acute infection,” says Romero. “The animals are going to need more I think and more time to gain weight,” he adds.
This disease is widespread worldwide and is present in more than a third of all farms, according to the survey by the National Animal Monitoring System. In farms with large numbers of animals, the disease is present in more than 70% of the pig herd. The prevalence of ileitis is between 15 and 100% in all countries worldwide.
“If we review the pathogen and its presence on farms, as the studies indicate, the prevalence is above 90%”
The disease is “purely economic” and greatly deteriorates production rates worldwide. “It is a disease with worldwide distribution with a very high prevalence,” acknowledges the veterinarian. “If we review the pathogen and its presence on farms, as the studies indicate, the prevalence is above 90%,” says Romero.
CONTROL MEASURES AGAINST ILEITIS
Porcine ileitis is a pathology that “cannot be eradicated,” indicates the expert. For this reason, control measures must be efficient to keep farms safe and prevent the progression of the disease in non-infected animals. “As with other diseases, cleaning, sanitary vacuum and biosafety They are fundamental,” he points out.
“With such a high prevalence and the difficulty of eradication, prevention is essential to live with the disease”
Regarding the reservoirs of the disease, the mouses They are carriers of the disease. “If there is a high mouse population, they can contaminate the pens where the pigs are kept and infect them,” insists Romero. In this sense, rodent control will also be an effective control measure.
“With such a high prevalence and the difficulty of eradication, prevention is essential to live with the disease,” says the veterinarian. “At a time like the current one when the use of antibiotics has been reduced, the most effective measure is vaccination,” he continues. In this sense, MSD has one of the two only vaccines marketed to prevent the disease.
Vaccination in livestock begins when the animals are young, “around three weeks of age, to protect them throughout their productive life.” MSD markets the intramuscular vaccineapplied by injection and administered individually, “each animal receives its vaccination dose.”
The pork sector is “very competitive, with very high technology and highly developed exports”
So far, this is the most effective measure to prevent serious infections of the illness. This infection is silent, “it does not kill, but it does steal” and requires more feed and increases production costs. “The bacteria that causes porcine ileitis is the invisible enemy,” Romero emphasizes. For this reason, control measures are so necessary in a “very competitive” sector, with a very high level of technology and such a developed export”, concludes the veterinarian.
2023-10-27 11:00:00
#Vaccination #biosafety #ileitis
