Control and Treatment Methods for Other Pig Diseases (1)

(1) Listeriosis in pigs

This disease is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by a Gram-positive Listeria bacterium that has no capsule and no spores. In pigs, it mainly presents with the characteristics of meningoencephalitis, septicemia and abortion.

Symptoms: Most affected pigs (especially piglets) show septicemic symptoms, with body temperature rising to 42°C, depression, anorexia, rapid breathing, and cyanosis of the skin of the head, ears and abdomen. Gait is abnormal, with the hind legs splayed while sitting on the ground in a stargazing posture, or continuous circling, spasms, gradual paralysis of the hind legs, and after falling to the ground, paddling of the limbs, with death within 2-4 days; pregnant sows abort.

Prevention and treatment:

1. Strengthen nutrition and improve environmental hygiene so that the pig herd maintains a high level of resistance to infection;

2. Isolate affected pigs promptly, strengthen disinfection of pig houses and the environment, and provide symptomatic treatment;

(1) Streptomycin sulfate or dihydrostreptomycin sulfate 10 mg/kg body weight per dose, intramuscular injection 2 times/day, for 3-5 consecutive days;

(2) Ampicillin 4-15 mg/kg body weight per dose, plus gentamicin 1-2 mg/kg body weight per dose, intramuscular injection 2 times/day, for 3 consecutive days;

(3) Potentiated sulfadiazine sodium injection (each 10 mL contains 1 g SD sodium and 0.2 g TMP) 0.05-0.1 mL/kg body weight per dose, intramuscular injection, 1-2 times/day, for 3-5 consecutive days.

(2) Leptospirosis in pigs

This disease is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira. It mainly occurs in piglets and growing pigs, and the sources of infection are mosquitoes, insects, rats, etc. Most cases are latent infections, and a few are acute, presenting with fever, jaundice, anemia, hemoglobinuria, edema, abortion, and necrosis of the skin and mucous membranes.

Symptoms: The chronic edematous type is more common, and the prominent symptom is very severe and obvious subcutaneous edema of the head, commonly known as "big-head plague"; the acute icteric type is rare and mostly occurs in medium and large pigs, mainly manifesting as body temperature that is sometimes high and sometimes low, listlessness, yellow staining of the conjunctiva, hemoglobinuria or hematuria, dry and cracked nose, and dry feces in pellets. Female animals abort, with mummified fetuses, and some lactating sows have no milk or mastitis.

Prevention and treatment:

1. Adopt comprehensive prevention and control measures, pay attention to rodent control, hygiene, disinfection, and other work, and in epidemic areas, monovalent or multivalent attenuated vaccines may be used for preventive inoculation when necessary;

2. When suspected affected pigs are found, isolate, treat or cull them promptly, and pay attention to disinfection and cleaning up contaminated materials;

3. After affected pigs are found in the herd, administer oxytetracycline to the whole herd at 0.75-1.5 g/kg feed for 7 consecutive days. For affected pigs, the drugs of first choice are streptomycin and penicillin, for 3-5 consecutive days.

(3) Congenital tremor in piglets (jumping or shaking disease)

The pathogen of this disease is congenital tremor virus, which causes local or generalized paroxysmal muscle contractions in piglets shortly after birth.

Symptoms: After birth, piglets are normal when quiet, but when they move they often show persistent tremor of the head, limbs and tail, or rhythmic paroxysmal spasms, with the whole body shaking, difficulty moving, and inability to suckle. If cared for well, after one week the tremor may gradually lessen or disappear and the piglets survive.

Prevention and treatment:

1. This disease of suckling piglets is generally relatively rare, and a sow has it in at most one litter, and it does not occur again in the second litter;

2. Strengthen care for affected piglets, keep the pig house warm, dry and clean, and assist suckling manually, which can enable most affected piglets to recover.

(4) Eperythrozoonosis in pigs

It is caused by a rickettsia, Eperythrozoon suis, and presents as acute icteric anemia.

Symptoms: Typically acutely infected sows often have anorexia for 1-3 days, with body temperature around 40-41°C, occasionally causing edema of the udder and vulva in sows, and lactating sows have reduced milk or lack maternal behavior. Piglets and growing pigs show high fever, with body temperature at 40.5-42°C, difficulty breathing, jaundice, yellow urine, anemia, and small pinpoint hemorrhages appearing under the abdomen, at the base of the ears, at the base of the tail, and other areas, which then further expand and finally merge into one area, causing the skin to slough off, and resulting in secondary infection by other bacteria, with a relatively high mortality rate.

Prevention and treatment:

1. The key to controlling this disease is to eliminate external parasites such as sarcoptic mange mites and blood lice on pigs, as well as flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes;

2. Drug treatment: The combined use of oxytetracycline and organic arsenic preparations has a relatively good effect; in addition, berenil (blood parasite purifier) and quinolone drugs also have a relatively good effect in treating this disease;

3. For piglets that have already developed this disease, attention should also be paid to iron supplementation and prevention of secondary infection; generally, piglets are given an intramuscular injection of 2 mL of iron dextran to prevent anemia.

(5) Coccidiosis in pigs

This disease is a protozoal disease caused by Eimeria and Isospora coccidia of pigs parasitizing the epithelial cells of the pig intestine, and it occurs mostly in suckling piglets in warm and humid seasons.

Symptoms: Loss of appetite, diarrhea, emaciation, generally lasting 4-6 days, with feces being liquid or pasty and yellowish-white, occasionally bloody feces can be seen, and severe cases may die from dehydration.

Prevention and treatment:

1. Removing coccidial oocysts from the environment and avoiding contamination of pig houses by oocysts are the key to preventing and treating this disease. Disinfection methods are generally used to kill oocysts, for example, fumigation disinfection with formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or ethylene oxide, or peracetic acid spray; heating and flame disinfection have a relatively good effect;

2. Give amprolium to sows 1 week before farrowing and during the postpartum lactation period at a dose of 25-65 mg/kg body weight, mixed into feed or drinking water, for 3-5 consecutive days; the same dose may also be given to affected piglets for prevention and treatment.

(6) Sarcoptic mange in pigs

This disease is a chronic skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis. It occurs mostly in damp and cold winter and spring.

Symptoms: Affected pigs have local itching and constantly rub or scratch everywhere; in the affected area, scurf and hair fall off, the skin becomes red, and exudate-formed scabs can be seen. In severe cases, the skin develops wrinkles or fissures, appetite is poor, and the animal gradually becomes emaciated.

Prevention and treatment:

1. Deworm regularly, isolate and treat affected pigs promptly, and disinfect pens with 5% hot caustic soda water;

2. Ivermectin or abamectin (pure product) 0.3 mg/kg body weight, one subcutaneous injection. Repeat once after 7-10 days.

3. Apply 0.005% deltamethrin solution to the affected area, and repeat once after 7-10 days;

4. Apply 0.05% amitraz (Taktic) solution to the affected area, and repeat once after 7-10 days;

5. Apply 0.5% mianjing (pyrimidinyl phosphorothioate) emulsion to the affected area, and repeat once after 7-10 days;

6. 1% trichlorfon aqueous solution, wash and rub the affected area, or spray. Repeat once after 7-10 days;

7. 1 part tobacco leaves or tobacco stems, add 20 parts water, soak for 24 hours, then boil for 1 hour and apply to the affected area, and repeat once after 7-10 days.