What disease causes a pig's high fever that won't subside? How to prevent and treat it

(1) Swine fever: The pig's body temperature rises to 40-42°C and does not subside persistently; appetite decreases or the pig stops eating, listlessness, shivering, lying down and prone to sleeping, crowding together in a pile or burrowing into straw; when standing and walking, the back is arched and the body bent, limbs are weak, movement is slow, gait is unsteady and swaying, conjunctiva is red with purulent discharge, first constipation, then diarrhea; at the base of the ears, abdomen, inner sides of the limbs and other areas there are purplish-red bleeding spots that do not fade under finger pressure. Lesions: systemic lymph nodes are enlarged with peripheral hemorrhage, red and white mottled in a marble-like pattern; the kidneys are pale in color with pinpoint-sized bleeding spots on the surface; the spleen is enlarged, hemorrhagic, with raised hemorrhagic infarcts on the edges; in chronic cases, button-like ulcers appear on the mucosa of the ileocecal region of the large intestine.

Prevention and treatment: (1) Strengthen routine management and improve environmental hygiene. (2) Carry out regular preventive vaccination; to eliminate interference from maternal antibodies, the vaccine dose can be increased (2-4 doses per pig). In swine fever epidemic areas or threatened areas, a large dose (8-10 doses per pig) of swine fever vaccine should be used for timely vaccination. Increasing the vaccine dose is the best method to eliminate maternal antibodies and is also an effective measure for preventing and treating atypical swine fever. (3) When swine fever occurs in a herd, sick pigs should be quickly isolated, and disinfection should be carried out with the pigs present. In the early stage of the disease, anti-swine fever serum can be used for treatment, generally injected once daily for 2-3 consecutive times.

(2) Swine influenza: The incubation period is 2-7 days. The pig's body temperature suddenly rises to 40-41.5°C, and can reach as high as 42°C. The pig eats less or stops eating entirely, is listless, has muscle and joint pain, often lies on the ground unable to rise, breathes rapidly, has paroxysmal spasmodic coughing, dry hard feces, and mucous discharge from the eyes and nose.

Prevention and treatment: (1) When the pig has a fever, use antipyretic and analgesic drugs, intramuscular injection of 3-5 mL of 30% analgin or oral administration of 2-4 g of aspirin. (2) To control secondary infection, intramuscular injection of 10 mL of 2% aminopyrine or 50,000 units of penicillin per kg of body weight.

(3) Swine pasteurellosis: Body temperature can rise to 41-42°C, breathing difficulty, open-mouth gasping, sitting in a dog-sitting posture, coughing, visible mucous membranes congested, conjunctivitis with purulent eye discharge. Red spots appear on the skin behind the ears, on the neck, abdomen, and inner sides of the limbs. The mortality rate is about 70%.

Prevention: Inject swine pasteurellosis vaccine regularly on schedule, strengthen feeding management, and improve the pig's disease resistance.

Antibiotics with relatively good therapeutic effects include gentamicin, followed by penicillin and ampicillin.

(4) Swine streptococcosis: Nursing pigs are most severely affected, mostly in the septicemic form. The sick pig's body temperature rises to 41-43°C, conjunctiva is reddened, tearing, coughing, breathing difficulty, and purplish-red patches on the body surface. Movement is uncoordinated, and the hindquarters are inflexible. Sick pigs with arthritis have swollen and painful joints and lameness; sick pigs with purulent lymphadenitis have swollen lymph nodes under the jaw, in the neck, and in front of the thigh.

Prevention: Keep the pigpen clean and dry, disinfect regularly. Penicillin has a relatively good effect in treating this disease, 50,000-80,000 units per kg of body weight, twice daily for 3 consecutive days.

(5) Swine toxoplasmosis: Similar to swine fever and influenza. The pig's body temperature rises to 40-42°C. The sick pig is listless, has reduced appetite, and in severe cases appetite is completely lost. There are congested spots on the head, ears, and lower parts of the limbs, the hind limbs are weak and powerless, walking is unsteady, the pig prefers lying down, and there is coughing. In severe cases, it adopts a dog-sitting posture. White foam flows from the mouth, and pregnant sows may abort.

Prevention and treatment: For sick pigs with relatively severe symptoms, use sulfa-6-methoxypyrimidine and sulfadiazine, each at 0.07 g per kg of body weight, mixed with 100-150 mL of 10% glucose for intravenous injection, generally 2-3 times. For pigs with milder symptoms, sulfa-6-methoxypyrimidine at 0.07 g per kg of body weight, intramuscular injection once, with the first dose doubled, twice daily, and recovery can be achieved after 3-5 consecutive days.

(6) Infectious pleuropneumonia: The sick pig's body temperature can reach 42°C or higher, breathing is highly difficult with a dog-sitting or lying-on-its-side posture, abdominal breathing, coughing, red foam mixed with blood flowing from the mouth and nose, and cyanosis of the abdomen and ear tips.

Prevention and treatment: This disease is highly sensitive to penicillin, ampicillin, long-acting oxytetracycline, and other drugs, among which it is most sensitive to long-acting oxytetracycline.

(7) Pseudorabies: The sick pig's body temperature rises to 41-42°C, with typical neurological symptoms, breathing difficulty, and occasional vomiting and diarrhea; peritoneal congestion, with occasional small bleeding spots; kidney enlargement, with scattered bleeding spots and cyanosis of the ear tips.

Prevention: There is no specific drug for this disease; the focus should be on strengthening routine management and ensuring proper vaccination.