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We are proud to launch a new open access journal, entitled Porcine Health Management (PHM). This new journal, which puts the pig in a central position, has been jointly established by the European College of P...
Tail biting is a common problem in modern pig production and has a negative impact on both animal welfare and economic result of the farm. Tail biting risk is increased by management and housing practices that...
The present work describes the serum haptoglobin (Hp) dynamics in piglets vaccinated and non-vaccinated with a commercial porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccine at 3 weeks of age, and its relationship with t...
It is often argued that pigs raised under less intensive production conditions – such as organic or free-range – have a higher level of animal welfare compared with conventionally raised pigs. To look into thi...
Oedema disease is one of the major diseases in pigs during the nursery period. It is caused by Shigatoxin 2e producing strains of Escherichia coli. In order to combat the disease, the metaphylactic use of colisti...
The Swiss pig population enjoys a favourable health situation. To further promote this, the Pig Health Service (PHS) conducts a surveillance program in affiliated herds: closed multiplier herds with the highes...
This short review discusses the increasing complexity that has developed around the understanding of Brachyspira species that infect pigs, and their ability to cause disease. It describes the recognition of new w...
A longitudinal study was carried out to investigate whether a herd that had previously tested negative for porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was free of PCV2 or whether the ne...
Contaminated complete feed and porcine plasma are risk factors for PEDV introduction to farms and a liquid antimicrobial has been proven useful for reducing risk. This s...
The aim of this trial was to test whether the temperature or additives of the drinking water affected water uptake by nursery pigs. We designed a repeated 4 × 4 Latin Square to control for confounding factors ...
No research has been reported on the effect of intramuscular ketoprofen administration on the feeding behavior of tail-bitten pigs. In order to investigate this, a longitudinal, double blind, placebo-controlle...
Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an enteric disease in swine caused by an alphacoronavirus. It affects swine of all ages causing acute diarrhoea and can lead to severe dehydration and death in suckling pigle...
One possible way to support raising large litter sizes in pigs is to offer supplementary, artificial milk ad libitum in the farrowing pen in addition to the sow’s milk. In order to evaluate the potential use of t...
Facilities for fattening pigs offer limited possibilities for exploration and wet feeding systems, where the pigs drink the food instead of eating it, have expanded on behalf of dry feeding systems. As little ...
The primary objective of this study was to assess the efficacy, under field conditions, of a novel ready-to use Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M hyo) and Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) combination vaccine given to p...
In the present study the efficacy and cross protection of a novel ready-to-use combination vaccine, Porcilis® Ery + Parvo + Lepto, against swine leptospirosis, was investigated. The octavalent vaccine contains...
The Erratum to this article has been published in Porcine Health Management 2015 1:20
Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) has and is still causing important economic losses to pig industry. This is due to PCV2-systemic disease (PCV2-SD), formerly known as postweaning multi-systemi...
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has never been reported in Denmark, but it has been found in Europe, Asia and North America. Ultimately, PEDV has been associated with devastating outbreaks in pig farms....
The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of different newly developed and/or commercially available ELISAs for detection of PRRSV specific antibodies. Consequently, ten PRRSV negative piglets (grou...
The original article was published in Porcine Health Management 2015 1:16
African Swine Fever (ASF) is an important contagious haemorrhagic viral disease affecting swine whose notification is mandatory due to its high mortality rates and the great sanitary and socioeconomic impact i...
The present study investigated the effect of peforelin (Maprelin®), a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue, administration in gilts, primiparous and pluriparous sows in a high productive farm on sow ...
Since its emergence in the late 1980’s, the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) has posed a significant challenge to the pig industry worldwide. Since then, a number of epidemiological ...
Tail biting is a common and serious welfare problem in pig production, causing large economical losses. Tail docking is performed routinely in most EU countries to reduce the tail biting risk. However, tail do...
Conventional vaccination programs using a single injection of a combined vaccine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MHYO) can promote a strong immune response that reduces f...
Antimicrobial consumption in veterinary medicine is of great importance. Increased awareness by the public and media has led to demands for decreased use of antimicrobials in pigs. This study aimed to identify...
Hoof lesions are very common among sows and have been associated with lameness, early removal and compromised welfare and productivity. Although housing conditions and management can have an external effect on...
The aim of this study was to use mathematical modeling to identify and quantify the main factors that affect daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in grow-finishing (GF) pig units. We evaluat...
Joint swelling and lameness are the most obvious and persistent clinical signs of infectious arthritis in piglets. For a positive treatment effect of piglets with arthritis, early initiated treatments with ant...
A discrete time, stochastic, compartmental model simulating the spread of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae within a batch of industrially raised pigs was developed to understand infection dynamics and to assess the impac...
The assessment of the cost of production and the relative weight of the different production parameters is very important in pig farming. The goals of the present work were 1) to describe reliable reference va...
High antimicrobial usage and the threat of antimicrobial resistance highlighted the need for reduced antimicrobial usage in pig production. Prevention of disease however, is necessary to obtain a reduced need ...
Western European porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) strains cause limited and mild clinical signs whereas more virulent strains are circulating in Eastern Europe. The emergence of such...
The pig appeasing pheromone (PAP) applied in spray has shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of aggression and the stress response of young and adult pigs under experimental conditions. This prelimin...
This is a critical comment on a paper published in Porcine Health Management in 2015, presenting a comparison between lesions from meat inspection at one abattoir on slaughter pigs classified in to two differe...
The sow is a social animal in her behavior throughout the reproductive cycle. An exception to her preference for being a part of a social group occurs one to two1–2 d days prior to farrowing, when she separate...
Group housing of sows during gestation is mandatory in the EU since 2013. Compared to housing in individual crates, group housing allows the animals to express normal activity and behavior. The present paper d...
The use of growth promoting and therapeutic antibiotics in piglet feed has been a concerning subject over the last few decades because of the risk of generating antimicrobial resistance that could be transferr...
Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing problem and reducing AM use is critical in limiting its severity. The underlying causes of antimicrobial use at pig farm level must be understood to select effective r...
Infections with encephalomyocarditis virus may cause myocarditis and sudden death in young pigs and reproduction disorders in sows. The presence of encephalomyocarditis virus infected rodents is considered a m...
Due to difficulties in eradicating porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) linked to biosecurity challenges, transmission of the virus and the lack of efficient DIVA vaccines, successful control o...
Post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD), due to Escherichia coli, is an important cause of economic losses to the pig industry primarily as a result of mortality and worsened productive performance. In spite of its relevanc...
Hoof lesions in sows have been associated with lameness and poor hoof horn quality. The mechanical strength and quality of hoof horn is determined by the density and diameter of horn tubules, which were recent...
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that grow on a variety of substrates. Due to their high consumption of cereals and their sensitivity, pigs are highly impacted by the presence of mycotoxins. At th...
PRRS is a viral disease of pigs and sows that is one of the most costly to the pig industry worldwide. The disease can be controlled by focusing on different aspects. One of them is the vaccination of piglets,...
There is growing concern about development of antimicrobial resistance due to use of antimicrobials (AMs) in livestock production. Identifying efficient alternatives, including vaccination, is a priority. The ...
Piglets at weaning suffer many stressors such as sudden change of feed, change in group composition and the end of lactogenic immunity. These stressors may cause poor growth performance. There is a need for al...
In spring 2015, an outbreak of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) struck Lower Austria caused by a PRRS virus (PRRSV) strain spreading rapidly among both previously PRRSV negative and vaccina...
PRRS is one of the most challenging diseases for world-wide pig production. Attempts for a sustainable control of this scourge by vaccination have not yet fully satisfied. With an increasing knowledge and meth...
Although vaccination against various pathogens is integral to health management of swine, vaccines against parasites have not yet been commercialized for the use in pigs. The incentive to develop and commercia...