Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
most noticeable symptom is an acute irritation of the nose, which makes the pigs rub their
noses against anything they can find. The disease eventually will affect the bones of the snout
and deform them. The face will gradually become misshapen and the bones around the face
and nose may disintegrate. The snout may become very noticeably curved along the side.
Young pigs are prone to pneumonia with rhinitis. Up to 30 percent of pigs with atrophic rhin-
itis may die. Testing is available to identify carriers of atrophic rhinitis, and it is recommended
that new animals be tested before they join your herd to prevent them from passing this dis-
ease along to your pigs.
The breeding herd should be vaccinated against the disease. It may take up to four months for
immunity to develop. Use sulfa drugs to medicate sows through their feed from the time they
enter the farrowing site until they wean their piglets. Inject piglets with amoxycillin on days
three, ten, and 15 while they are nursing, and inject them again at weaning time with a long-
lasting antibiotic. Continue this method of vaccination for at least two months until all of your
sows have been vaccinated. Give sows a booster vaccine two to three weeks before each sub-
sequent farrowing.
This sickness can carry on through quite a few litters if it is left untreated. Inoculating farrow-
ing sows will help prevent it, but rhinitis management has to be done on a continuous basis.
Brucellosis:
Brucellosis manifests itself in aborted litters, arthritis in sows, and inflamed
testicles in the boar. Brucellosis can be passed through feed contaminated with urine, manure,
or other discharges from affected pigs. It also can be passed through shared water. Brucellosis
is sexually transmitted, so if you are breeding your sow to an outside boar, you will need to
ask for proof that the boar has been tested recently for brucellosis. If an infected sow does
have a litter, she will pass the disease along to the nursing pigs in her milk. The only treatment
for brucellosis is to remove animals from the herd and to disinfect the entire area. If the entire
herd is affected, the only reliable way to prevent the spread of the disease is to destroy the
herd. It is required by law in some areas because it is a matter of public health. Many states
require certification that pigs are brucellosis free before allowing them to be shipped into their
area. You can check with your veterinarian or your county extension service agent to see if
brucellosis testing is required in your area before shipping.
Hog cholera/African swine fever:
At one time hog cholera, or classical swine fever, was one
of the most deadly of all swine diseases. There is no treatment for hog cholera. The symptoms
include a high fever, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and coma leading to death. It is extremely con-
