it is about animal production

1. Swine health, disease and disease
control
ABASE ABDU –FROM WERABE UNIVERSITY.

2. CHAPTER 8
Swine health, disease and disease
control
1.Hereditary diseases are caused due to
disease causing factors that are carried on the
genes
(defective genes) and that are transmitted from
parents to offspring
They are relatively few in
number. They may be considered as a breeding
problem.

3. Swine health, disease and disease
control cont…
• 2. Acquired diseases are caused due to a
complex interrelationship of an animal with
its environment or complex interrelationship of
determinants of diseases
• Determinants of disease are factors that affect
occurrence of disease
• 3. Parasitic disease: caused due to internal and
external parasites

4. Swine health, disease and disease
control cont…
There are varying degrees of severity of disease
Some diseases may be rather mild where others
may be sever and even cause death
A disease is said to be acute if it occurs quickly
and runs its course within a few days
A very acute disease may appear and result in
the death of an animal before any symptoms
can be noticed. Anthrax, milk fever and various
poisons are usually acute

5. Common pig diseases and parasites
There are over 90 different types of infectious
and parasitic diseases that can be spread from
animals to human beings (zoonotic disease)
Examples are Brucellosis, Leptospirosis,
Erysipelas and Tuberculosis is common in
both swine and human

6. Infectious diseases of the swine
1. Brucellosis-caused by Brucella species called Brucella suis
 Symptom
• Abortion (especially during 2 or 3 months of pregnancy)
• Intermittent fever in affected animal
• Irregular estrous
• Sterility
• Orchitis
 Mode of transmission
• During copulation (from male to female)
• Feed and water contaminated with body discharge
 Prevention
• Strict sanitation
• Isolation at the time of parturition
• Treatment
• No treatment, but culling the already infected animal
 Treatment
 No treatment, but culling the already infected animal

7. 2. Leptospirosis (Skin Abrasion)
• Not common in tropics
• Caused by four Leptospira species (L. Pomona,
L.canicola, L.interrogans hardjo and L.australia)
 Symptoms
• Abortion occur2-4 weeks before farrowing
• large number of weaklings with high mortality
rate
• loss of appetite
 Control
• Vaccination is both economical and efficient
(affordable)

8. 4.Metritis
• A non-specific infection resulting in an inflammation of the
uterus. It can be caused from several factors of reproduction
used such as mating, pregnancy, and abortion, retention of
placenta or dead pigs that cause blood poisoning in sows and
this brings sterility
 Clinical signs: become evident 2-5 sows after farrowing
• A sticky whitish-yellow discharge from vulva
 Treatment flushing of the genitalia with mild anti-septics
• Careful insertion of the uterine tablets
• Injection of anti-biotics
• A good health condition results not only in the reduction
of loss of the productive and reproductive performance but
also reduces loss of the life animals (increase survival of animal)
thereby increase the overall economy of the farm

9. 3.Mastitis and Agalactia
• They are difficult to control
• They cause starvation of baby pigs
• Mastitis: is an inflammation or infection of the
mammary gland (udder).
• Agalactia: is manifested by a failure of the sow
to produce milk (reduced milk production)
• Problems of lactation failure (decrease in milk
production) may be due to
• Environmental factors-poor nutrition or
temperature
• Genetic make-up inherent hormonal deficiency

10. 5.African swine fever
• viral disease caused by African swine fever virus
• Very difficult to control since no appropriate cure
or effective serum or vaccine has never been
found. It is fatal –stop eating, depressed and lies
in one side and refuse to move
 Mode of transmission: easily spread through
contamination.
• The virus is present in all organs, blood and other
secretions of the animal’s body
 Symptoms: fever, dyspnea, naso ocular
discharges

11. 6. Hog Cholera (swine fever)
• viral disease. It is the most serious tropical pig disease and is characterized
by high morbidity and mortality rates.
 Symptoms: partial or complete loss of appetite, fever (40-41 C) normal
T=38.7-39.8 with an average of 39.2 C and dropping head are typical
symptoms.
 Prevention: immunization using effective vaccine
 Treatment: anti-hog cholera serum (an immunizing agent with anti-bodies
against hog
• cholera) has a curative effect when used at early stage of the disease
 7.Pleuro pneumonia: respiratory disease caused by Haemophilus pleuro
pneumonia
• Predisposing factors-poor nutrition, parasite infestation and poor
management
• Adverse environmental factors such as high ambient T, high humidity,
inadequate ventilation in the house

12.  8.Swine Erysipelas: an acute or chronic infectious disease of respiratory tract of
swine.
• Symptoms: high fever, edema of nose, ears and limbs. Edema of the nose causes
• affected animal to breathe a snoring sound.
 9.Foot and Mouth Disease(FMD)
• Symptoms: vesicles may appear on the mouth, foot, udder and etc.
• Wound on mouth and foot
 10.Coccidiosis: is a protozoal disease caused by Eimeria species called Isospora
suis
• Symptoms: watery discharges, dehydration, death
• Treatment : Sulfamethazine, Amprolium
 11.Salmonellosis: is bacterial disease caused by S. typhimurium and S.
choleraesuis
• Symptoms: fever, diarrhea, death
• Treatment : Sulfamethazine, Amprolium
 12.Swine influenza: a viral disease.

13. Parasitic diseases of swine
• Hogs (castrated male pig) are probably more
affected by parasites than any other class of
• livestock with exception of sheep.
• 1. External parasites: hog mange (mites), lice, ticks
and fleas
• 2. Internal parasites-round worms-Ascaris and kidney
worm/ tape worm-common tapeworm in swine is
called Tania solium Lung- worms etc….
• Non infectious diseases of swine
 Most of the time caused by mineral deficiency.
• Disease prevention and control

14. 9. HOUSING OF SWINE

15. There are numerous advantages to keeping
pigs inside:
The animals spend their energy putting on body
weight rather than on seeking food and shelter
The number of piglets surviving will rise if they are
born in secure and healthy surroundings
Controlling the health of the pigs is easier if they are
housed, since it is easier to maintain good hygiene
Feeding routines can be more carefully controlled
Manure can be easily collected and used for
fertilizing land

16. Climate
The climate to which a pig is exposed is very
important
Pigs are very sensitive to sudden changes in
temperature They cannot stand heavy rain or drought
Strong sunlight is bad for them, as it causes their skin
to dry out
Albino pigs especially cannot endure the sun because
they have no pigment in the skin and they soon burn
This illustrates the necessity for shade
Pigs kept for optimal production should therefore be
protected from climatic stress

17. Technical requirements for good housing
The construction of pig pens and houses will
depend to a certain extent upon the climate and
local circumstances (e.g. numbers of pigs to be
kept)
 Local conditions are also important, in terms, for
example, of the construction site (waterlogged,
exposed to wind...etc.) or the building materials
and the skills available for the construction of the
installations
In hot, humid, or damp areas, breeze and shade
are important factors

18. Technical requirements for good
housing…cont
The buildings should be as open and airy as
possible
The walls of the pens should be so constructed
that the wind can pass freely through for good
ventilation
In some areas animals should be protected
against periodic temperature drops by ensuring
that any heat can be retained

19. A few important requisites for the pen are:
It should not be draughty
Bright sunshine and heavy rain should not be able to enter
There should be no great variation in temperature inside
the pens
They should be easy to clean
Provision should be made for storing the manure, litter
and run-off for later use

20. Types of houses
 BREEDING-GESTATION
 FARROWING
 WEANLING
 GROWING-FINISHING
 Production Enterprises
 Three types of swine production enterprises are farrow-to
finish, farrow-to-feeder, and feeder-to-finish
 To determine which enterprise will work best in your
situation, you must first consider:
 The amount of capital, labor, and land available
 The level of management and marketing skills needed
 The social and environmental implications associated with
 Manure management

21. Types of Group or Loose Housing
Typical group or loose housing uses slatted floors,
no bedding and various methods of delivering
feed, both liquid and dry, to a group of sows
Not all sows are suited to loose housing; sows that
are excitable or overly active and sows that are
overly docile both take more time and labour to
move and work with in a loose housing system
There are two methods of grouping sows - static
and dynamic
In the static system, once a group of sows is
assembled and penned together, no more animals
are added

22. Types of Group or Loose Housing…cont
Animals that do not adapt are removed to stalls. The
dynamic system is a group of sows with animals
added and removed weekly
With both systems, sows are moved out to farrow
over 1-2 weeks
Producers with fewer than 700 sows would use the
dynamic system, while those with more than 700
would use the static system to best utilize electronic
sow feeders
 Gilts must be housed and grouped separately from
sows until after their first litter

23. Electronic Sow Feeding (ESF) in Group
Housing
 Things to consider when using electronic sow feeding:
 Sows feed from ESF systems and live in stalls from
weaning to 28 days pregnant, to ensure safe and secure
implantation of the fertilized eggs within the uterus
 Sows move to electronic feeding pens with 65-70 sows/pen,
from 28 days to farrowing time
 ESF systems use a straw-based manure system
 Straw bedding provides increased animal comfort
 Boars live in separate pens, and lame/sick sows live in
hospital pens, removed from the group pens
 Keeping sows in stalls allows the producer to give them
individual attention and housing during the critical periods
of post-weaning, post-breeding and early fetal development,
as well as make pregnancy diagnoses before grouping

24. Electronic Sow Feeding (ESF) in Group
Housing…cont
 In loose-housed system, the sows do not have food and
water immediately in front of them as they would in a
stalled system
 Non-performing sows must be removed promptly to
hospital pens to aid recovery
 Sows kept in a static group tend to be less aggressive than
sows kept in a dynamic group
 Group sizes of 65-70 are the most efficient for ESF
 Gilts of uniform size and activity level live together in pens
until they are successfully bred with their second litter
 It is best to group other animals as closely as possible by
weight. This can be difficult when dealing with smaller
numbers of sows. Failure to do this can lead to aggressive
behavior and timid animals

25. Advantages
Sows remain productive for longer because they
maintain their muscle tone. If well reared as gilts, sows
live longer
Apart from aggression at entry to the group pen, there
is little fighting
Sows on ESF can be individually fed according to
condition and size. This requires additional time and
attention to detail in the feeding program
There is minimal feed waste
Sows appear to be more docile and easily handled
Staff prefer working in a loose-housed environment
Output on ESF farms can be equal to or greater than
stalled units

26. Disadvantages
Because there is a single, large lying area, sows can dung in
the straw in the lying area
ESF systems require a higher level of attention to detail
than stalled units. Producers must quickly identify a
missing or broken ear transponder tag and seek out sows
that are not entering the feeding area, or the sow will not be
able to eat
ESF systems are more labour intensive (+20% in the
breeding area in a straw-based system)
The mechanisms of ESF are complex and require
compentency with computer software and electronics
Mechanical breakdowns are common. Wiring must be well
protected from the environment, especially mice, in a
straw-based system.

27. Disadvantages …cont
 At present, most ESF manufacturers are European, and
while their products are reliable, finding dealers, service
and parts can be challenging
 There is a risk of compromising biosecurity with the use of
straw bedding.
 Conversion from an existing conventional sow system to
ESF is not as easy as conversion to some of the other
systems because of the very different pen configuration that
is required for ESF. Many producers have added ESF to
new facilities
 It takes time to train the sows to enter the feeder
 Sows that cannot be trained must be culled or housed
differently
 The ESF unit is expensive to purchase.

28. Feeding Stalls in Group Housing
 Advantages
 Use of these stalls reduces aggression significantly, since
their design discourages a sow from trying to get another
sow's feed
 Sows are fed in groups (one sow per stall) by emptying the
unit after a group has been fed, allowing another group to
enter, and refilling the feeders
 Disadvantages
 All sows must eat at the same time
 Feed portion control is not as accurate as it could be
 Feeding stalls do not work as well with liquid feeding, since
sows that eat faster get a greater proportion of the feed
 Limit liquid feeding to a group size of four sows to ensure
they get close to what their nutritional needs are

29. Manure Management
Slatted Floor Systems
 Loose housing can use slatted floors or a straw-based
system for manure management. Slat details are important
for dry sows in pens. A slatted floor at least 2.4 m (8 ft)
wide helps keep sows clean; any less and there will be some
risk of manure on the solid floor
 Ideal slot width is 2 cm (3/4 in.)The slatted floor area at the
end of the pen, next to the outside wall, is prone to manure
build-up, because the manure does not get tramped down by
the sows. A wider gap of 5 cm (2 in.) between the last slat
and the wall will keep this area cleaner. Place the slat panels
parallel to walls and support them on cross beams. Sows do
not typically get caught in this wider gap
Straw-Based Systems
Non-Straw or Low-Straw ESF Systems in Europe

30. 10. Processing and marketing of swine meat
10.1. Procedures for slaughtering pigs
10.1.1. Handling before slaughtering pigs
Animals should be handled calmly and quietly
 Only handling aids that encourage movement through
sight or sound should be used (eg pig boards or rolled up
feed bags)
 Appropriate food must be provided if animals are kept
overnight
The race should have solid sides to direct the pigs forward
and exclude distractions
 It should be wide enough for two pigs to walk together
Straight races can be used for pigs provided they do not
present a dead end

31. Equipment
All stunning and killing equipment must be designed
to deliver a consistent and effective stun
An appropriately trained person should check all
stunning equipment at the beginning of each day
 All equipment should be cleaned and inspected at the
end of each working day

32. 10.1.2. Stunning
Stunning methods must be applied in ways
that minimize the risk of causing
pain
distress
 fear to the pigs
1. Electrical stunning
2.Carbondioxide-stunning
3.Captive-boltstunning

33. Captive-bolt stunning
should only be carried out by a competent and
confident technician
 After stunning, indicators of a good stun include;
Animal immediately falls down
Tongue sticks out of mouth and is limp
Eyes are fully open
There is no blinking reflex of fast eye movements
There is no rhythmic breathing

34. 10.1.3.Bleeding
It is essential that bleeding is done within 15 seconds of
stunning so there is insufficient time for recovery to
take place before there is irreversible loss of brain
function from lack of oxygen
Bleeding is not essential for animal welfare where the
pigs are killed by a stun-kill method, but remains
important for meat quality
 In order to ensure a rapid bleed out, the major vessels
must be severed properly
The chest stick method is the best method to ensure a
good bleed out
 The operator should ensure that the animal is dead by
checking for the absence of the brain stem reflexes
(blinking when cornea is touched and reflexive gasping
breaths)

35. 10.1.4.Scalding and dehairing
 Scalding in water at around 60°C for about six minutes loosens
the hair in the follicle
 Too low a temperature and the hair will not be loosened and too
high a temperature and the skin will be cooked and the hair
difficult to remove
 To check the effectiveness of the scald, rub the skin with the
thumb to see if hair comes away easily
 Some machines have the thermostatic controls and timers.
 To reduce contamination, scalding water should be changed
frequently, pigs should be as clean as possible at sticking, and
bleeding should be fully completed before immersion
 Dehairing is done with a specially formed scraper (bell scraper
or knife)
 If the scald is effective all the hair can be removed by this
manual method. Another simple method is to dip the pig in a
bath containing a hot resin adhesive.

36. 10.1.5. Evisceration
With all species care must be taken in all
operations not to puncture the viscera
All viscera must be identified with the carcass
until the veterinary inspection has been passed
 After inspection the viscera should be chilled on
racks etc. for better air circulation

37. 10.1.6. Splitting, Washing and Dressing of
Carcasses
Hygienic carcass splitting with simple equipment
 These are suspended and are split down the backbone as
for cattle, but the head is generally left intact
Carcass washing
The primary objective of carcass washing is to
remove visible soiling and blood stains and to
improve appearance after chilling
Carcass dressing
The objective of carcass dressing is to remove all
damaged or contaminated parts and to
standardize the presentation of carcasses prior to
weighing

38. 10.1.7. Refrigeration
 Carcasses should go into the cooler as soon as possible
 should be as dry as possible
 The objective of refrigeration is to retard bacterial growth
 Extend the shelf-life
 Chilling meat post-mortem from 40°C down to 0°C and keeping
it cold will give a shelf-life of up to three weeks, provided high
standards of hygiene were observed during slaughter and
dressing
 The rate of cooling at the deepest point will vary according to
many factors including the efficiency of the cooler, the load,
carcass size and fatness
 As a general guide a deep muscle temperature of 6–7° C should
be achieved in 12 to 16 hours for pig carcasses. Failure to bring
down the internal temperature quickly will result in rapid
multiplication of bacteria deep in the meat resulting in off-
odours and bone-taint

39. 10.1.7. Refrigeration…cont
High air speeds are needed for rapid cooling
but these will lead to increased weight losses
due to evaporation unless the relative humidity
(RH) is also high
 However, if the air is near to saturation point
(100 percent RH) then condensation will occur
on the carcass surface, favouring mould and
bacteria growth
A compromise between the two problems
seems to be an RH of about 90 percent with an
air speed of about 0.5 m/second

40. 10.1.7. Refrigeration…cont
Condensation will also occur if warm
carcasses are put in a cooler partially filled
with cold carcasses
The cooler should not be overloaded beyond
the maximum load specified by the
manufacturers and spaces should be left
between carcasses for the cold air to circulate
Otherwise cooling will be inefficient and the
carcass surface will remain wet, favouring
rapid bacterial growth forming slime