How to Treat Swine Cough and Asthma Disease? The Truth About Treatment and an Analysis of Methods
Swine cough and asthma disease, also known as Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae pneumonia, is a contagious, chronic, wasting respiratory infectious disease of pigs caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae of the family Mycoplasmataceae. The main clinical symptoms of this disease are that the pathological changes are mainly located within the thoracic cavity. The lungs are the main organ affected. Acute cases are dominated by pulmonary edema and emphysema; subacute and chronic cases show “shrimp meat”-like consolidation of the lungs. Affected pigs grow slowly, have low feed conversion efficiency, and the fattening period is prolonged. Let us take a look below at the truth about treating swine cough and asthma disease, and how many pig farmers have fallen into misunderstandings.
1. Analyze the feeding model and triggering factors. If the temperature is not well controlled, low temperatures will trigger coughing and asthma. The quality of feed ingredients can reduce immunity. If the environment is poor, as some farmers have reported, harmful gases and dust can also increase the incidence of respiratory diseases. Identify what urgently needs improvement: ventilation and air exchange, reducing dust, and increasing feed absorption rate.
2. Based on past experience and clinical manifestations, diagnose the triggering factors, which may be viruses, bacteria, or mycotoxins, and treat both the symptoms and the cause. For piglets and sows, use traditional Chinese medicine for conditioning and recovery as much as possible. If lung lesions have been present for some time, the lungs will be damaged to varying degrees, and traditional Chinese medicine can play a restorative role. In severe cases, traditional Chinese medicine and antibiotics should be used in combination.
3. Once a respiratory disease is contracted, immunity drops sharply, making it easy to contract other diseases. It is necessary to use drugs with traditional Chinese medicine components to relieve cough and asthma, moisten the intestines and promote bowel movement, and support healthy qi and consolidate the constitution. When healthy qi is stored within, pathogenic factors cannot invade. Pay attention to the animal's own habits and nutritional needs, and reduce stress.
4. Use fumigation as an auxiliary treatment, such as with rice vinegar, Isatis root, mugwort leaf, Atractylodes lancea, and Houttuynia cordata, which can effectively improve immunity and make it less likely to contract diseases.