How to tell if a sow has inflammation? Use boar semen for testing during estrus

AbstractWhen a diseased pig showing signs of inflammation is in estrus, insert a catheter into the diseased pig's vagina, then pull the catheter out, take the mucus adhering to the catheter and place it on a glass slide, then take a little highly motile boar semen and mix it with the mucus, let it stand for a period of time, then place the glass slide under a microscope for observation. If the sperm die, it indicates that the sow has inflammation and should be treated promptly.

Causes and symptoms of sow inflammation

1. Vaginitis

1. Causes: mainly damage and infection of the vaginal mucosa caused by mating, artificial insemination or dystocia; it may also be a complication of retained placenta, putrefaction and decomposition, or endometritis; unclean conditions in the pig house, and the sow lying down or lying on its side to defecate or urinate, may all cause this disease.

2. Symptoms: the diseased pig often arches its back and raises its tail, and its labia open and close from time to time in a urinating posture; the vulva is red and swollen, and the vulva exudes white to yellow odorless mucus, which adheres to the tail root and around the vulva. When examining the vagina, it is relatively difficult to insert a speculum, and the diseased pig shows pain; its vaginal mucosa is congested, swollen, traumatized or eroded, with severe damage, and it is generally accompanied by an elevated body temperature.

2. Metritis

1. Causes: mainly caused by bacteria invading the birth canal when the sow gives birth; it may also be caused by birth canal injury or partial retention of the placenta; lax disinfection during artificial insemination, or during direct mating when a boar first mates with a sow suffering from metritis and then mates with a healthy sow, can also cause infection.

2. Symptoms: according to the course of the disease, it can be divided into acute metritis and chronic metritis. Acute metritis generally occurs after farrowing; the diseased pig's appetite decreases or stops, its body temperature rises, its snout is dry, and yellow-white or brown odorous secretions flow from the vagina, mixed with placental fragments. If not treated promptly, it will develop into septicemia or pyemia. Chronic metritis is mostly transformed from acute metritis that was not treated promptly or not treated thoroughly; the diseased pig's uterine mucosa gradually thickens due to chronic inflammatory stimulation, and secretions periodically flow from the vagina. Diseased pigs with this inflammation also come into estrus regularly, but cannot conceive.

3. Endometritis

1. Causes: mostly caused by bacterial infection from dystocia, retained placenta, uterine prolapse, incomplete involution, and birth canal injury; lax disinfection during breeding, artificial insemination, and vaginal examination can also cause infection with this disease.

2. Symptoms: the diseased pig's body temperature rises, it is depressed, and its appetite decreases or it refuses food; it often makes urinating movements, and white mucous or purulent flocculent secretions are discharged from the vulva. If it is after farrowing, the secretions will also contain placental fragments.

Treatment methods for sow inflammation

1. Vaginitis

Prevent according to the cause of the disease in the diseased pig. Do not be too rough during assisted delivery, pay attention to disinfection during artificial insemination, carefully clean the diseased pig's vulva, and rinse the vagina with 0.1% potassium permanganate or 0.05% benzalkonium bromide; when the diseased pig's vagina is severely swollen, use warm 2%-5% sodium chloride solution; when the diseased pig has a lot of vaginal exudate, use 1%-2% alum solution.

When rinsing the vagina, be careful not to let the rinse liquid flow back into the uterus, to prevent spreading the infection. After rinsing, apply sulfonamide crystals or iodoform to the affected area; if application is relatively difficult, the medicine can be made into a paste before applying; alternatively, take 1 chlorhexidine acetate suppository and place it 5-6 cm deep in the vagina. Mild inflammation heals after one treatment, while severe cases require another treatment every other day.

2. Metritis

During the diseased pig's estrus, use an artificial insemination catheter or a urinary rubber catheter to clean the diseased pig's uterus and remove the inflammatory secretions in the uterine cavity. For rinsing, 0.1% potassium permanganate solution can generally be used. After rinsing, the remaining liquid must be drained out. After 30 minutes, inject 1 g tetracycline or oxytetracycline plus 100 ml distilled water into the diseased pig's uterus. Generally, rinse once every 1-3 days. If the diseased pig has a large amount of exudate, the number of rinses can be increased, and at the same time a uterine contraction agent can also be used to help expel the exudate.

Injecting or orally administering sulfonamide drugs to the diseased pig, or injecting penicillin, can achieve a better anti-inflammatory effect; the diseased pig can also be given 3 consecutive doses of a medicine made by decocting 30 g each of motherwort, common selfheal and dandelion together.

3. Endometritis

In the acute stage of inflammation, first clean out the inflammatory secretions retained in the diseased pig's uterus. Generally, choose 1% physiological saline or 0.1% potassium permanganate, 0.02% benzalkonium bromide, 1%-2% sodium bicarbonate, 1% alum, 0.1% ethacridine, etc. to rinse the uterus, then drain out the residual solution, and afterward inject 200,000-400,000 units of penicillin or 1 g chlortetracycline into the diseased pig's uterus.