Disease is one of the biggest threats that pig farms face. Animal health is at stake, and one infected pig can put the farm's productivity, meat production and profit at risk.

A farm hygiene program that's grounded in biosecurity best practices is the foundation for effective disease prevention. 

Ecolab has experts in pig disease prevention, and we're ready to help you make your farm as productive as possible while keeping your animals healthy.

African Swine Fever

African Swine Fever is a highly contagious, fast spreading and deadly viral disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boars; there is not a vaccine or cure for ASF. Healthy pigs become infected by direct contact with infected animals, contact with anything contaminated by the virus, bites by infectious ticks or ingestion of meat or meat products from infected animals including kitchen waste or feed.

Symptoms: High fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, skin bleeding and bloody diarrhea; acute mortality rate

Salmonella

Salmonella in pigs is an intestinal bacterial that causes inflammation and necrosis of the small and large intestines. Infection with certain serotypes may be accompanied by generalized sepsis. Pigs of all ages are susceptible, but intestinal salmonellosis is most common in weaned and growing/finishing pigs. 

Symptoms: Lack of appetite; watery, yellow diarrhea, fever up to 105-106°F/40.5-41°C, sudden death

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

PRRS is a highly contagious virus that can cause fertility problems and respiratory problems in pigs and sows. The PRRS virus is introduced to a farm primarily through the purchase of infected animals, through the purchase of infected semen and through farm traffic including vehicles and visitors.

Symptoms: Anorexia, fever, lethargy, depression, reproduction problems

Colibacillosis

Colibacillosis caused by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains (ETEC strains) can provoke watery diarrhea and lead to death in neonatal piglets. This so-called enterotoxigenic form of colibacillosis can also occur in older, unweaned and weaned piglets.

Symptoms: Diarrhea, progressive dehydration, roughened hair coat, body subnormal temperature, shivering 

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus

PEDV is a coronavirus that infects the small intestine of pigs and piglets. The virus is mainly spread and transmitted through manure. Purchase of animals and transport of animals increases a real risk for the introduction of PEDV. 

Symptoms: Diarrhea and dehydration, reduced growth, high mortality rate

Swine Dysentery

Swine dysentery is a common, micro hemorrhagic diarrheal disease of pigs that affects the big intestine. As the diseases progresses, blood may be lost through the damaged intestinal wall. Death usually results because of the dehydration and loss of electrolytes. The most common mode of transmission of swine dysentery is the carrier pig. After susceptible pigs ingest the organisms, symptoms of swine dysentery usually occur in 2 to 21 days. 

Symptoms
Sows: Clinical disease in sows is uncommon unless new disease appears in the herd; sows are most often symptomless carriers

Piglets: Sloppy light brown feces with or without mucus or blood.

Weaners and growers: Diarrhea that is light brown and contains jelly-like mucus and becomes watery and after some time, blood may appear in increasing amounts turning the feces dark and tarry; hollowing of the flanks with poor growth; partial loss of appetite; slight reddening of the skin; dehydration; gaunt appearance with sunken eyes; sudden death sometimes occurs in heavy finishers

Streptococcus Suis

Streptococcus suis infects pigs at or shortly after birth from the sow or by aerosol or contact within 5-25 days of mixing with carrier animals. It multiplies in the tonsillar crypts, is taken up by white blood cells and is distributed in the blood to the brain and joints. S. suis is sensitive to a wide range of antimicrobials and farm disinfectants but survives 512 days on the tonsils in carrier animals and 25 days at 9°C/48°F in dust. It can cause septicaemia within a few hours which may kill the animal or cause meningitis, which is frequently fatal. 

Symptoms 
Serotype 1 causes disease in piglets of 10-14 days of age.

Symptoms: Failure to thrive, rough-coated, fever of 40.6-41.1°C/105-106°F and possible death. Enlarged, hot, painful swollen joints develop later or animals become stiff, bind or show muscular tremors ending in ataxia or death. Typically, up to two thirds of the litter develops some form of the disease.

Serotype 2 causes disease in pigs aged 3-12 weeks or more with an incubation period of 24 hours to 2 weeks. Outbreaks often begin with the death of a pig in a good condition.

Symptoms: Fever of 40.6-41.7°C/105-107°F and flushing of the skin may occur in live pigs. Nervous signs such as incoordination, tremor, paralysis, paddling, opisthotonus and tetanic spasms develop in that order. Death can occur within four hours of the onset of the clinical signs. Animals developing meningitis have a glassy stare, flushed skin and unsteady gait. Head tilt is sometimes present. Arthritis may occur in younger pigs and occasionally in gilts and sows. Bronchopneumonia may occur. Mortality varies from 1-50% in any batch of pigs and in herds with enzootic infection may be 0.5% with 1% morbidity.

Coccidiosis

Coccidiosis in pigs is caused by a parasite called Isospora suis. There are a range of other coccidia (e.g. Eimeria sp) often found in the pig, but these are generally thought to be harmless although in rare cases can cause disease in young adults. The parasite has a direct lifecycle between pigs (i.e. there is no intermediate host) with Oocysts shed from an infected individual into the environment in which they undergo a temperature dependant sporulation process before infecting other animals orally. The organism then colonises the small intestine, developing through a number of stages and causing gut damage leading to scour. This process takes several days and, as such, Coccidiosis does not occur below five days of age, and most typically is not seen until 10 days old.

Symptoms
Sows: None, sows are carriers

Piglets: Diarrhea is the main clinical sign in early stages. In later stages the feces vary in consistency and color from yellow to grey green, or bloody according to the severity of the condition. Dehydration is common.

Weaners and growers: Poor growth, sloppy diarrhea, feces/diarrhea may occasionally be tinged with blood.