Sow endometritis with repeated breeding failure and complete loss of appetite: how to prevent and treat it

    Sow endometritis is usually a mucous inflammation of the uterine mucosa, and it is a common reproductive organ disease in sows. The disease is generally caused by multiple factors such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and nutrition. Clinically, sow endometritis can be divided into acute and chronic types. 

Pig

    Acute endometritis mostly occurs after farrowing or abortion. Affected pigs have reduced or completely lost appetite, elevated body temperature, an arched back, frequent urination, and frequent straining, and they discharge foul-smelling, unclean brown mucus or purulent secretions from the vagina, with more outflow when lying down. Chronic endometritis mostly develops from acute endometritis that is not treated in time. Affected pigs may periodically discharge a small amount of turbid mucus from the vagina, and some often discharge gray or yellowish-brown purulent secretions from the vulva, with more when lying down; the skin around the vulva and the base of the tail have purulent secretions stuck to them, which form thin scabs after drying. When flushing the uterus, the reflux fluid is turbid, like thin batter, and sometimes is yellow pus. Sows often have abnormal estrus, and even if they can come into estrus regularly, they repeatedly fail to conceive.  For sow endometritis, prevention is the main approach; severe endometritis generally has no treatment value, and even if cured, the sow loses reproductive capacity. 

    1. When breeding and inseminating sows, strictly disinfect the insemination equipment.

 
    2. Create a quiet living environment for sows to prevent trauma.

    3. Sows should begin to have their feed reduced 3-5 days before farrowing, be fasted on the day of delivery, have their feed reduced 3 days before weaning, and not be fed on the day of weaning. In addition, before piglets are weaned, control the number of sucklings and gradually reduce mammary gland activity. Within 30-48 hours after farrowing, sows should be injected intramuscularly with 10 mg of prostaglandin to promote the discharge of uterine contents.

    4. Strictly disinfect the farrowing house and the sow's body surface. 

    5. Keep the pig house clean and dry. For sows about to farrow, carry out good farrowing assistance disinfection, and wash the sow's vulva, buttocks, and udder clean with 1% potassium permanganate solution. 

    6. When dystocia occurs, operate carefully to avoid damaging the birth canal, and inject antibacterial drugs. 

    7. After farrowing, sows should be given traditional Chinese medicines such as motherwort to enhance uterine contraction. 

    8. After sows finish farrowing, use the following intravenous drug prevention regimen: the first bottle is 0.9% sodium chloride injection 500 ml + 1.6 million international units penicillin 5 vials for intravenous injection. The second bottle is glucose injection 500 ml + vitamin C + vitamin B for intravenous injection to replenish fluids. For sows with mild endometritis, drug treatment can be used. Drug treatment: use penicillin and streptomycin in a 3:1 ratio, usually 7-10 vials of 1.6 million international units penicillin combined with streptomycin for intravenous injection. Uterine flushing: use a clean and hygienic insemination catheter to draw up a one-thousandth concentration potassium permanganate solution to flush the uterus.