Viral Diseases

Pig and Hog Vaccination

Pigs and any member of the swine family need a lot of care. If you're a a pig owner, you have to be sensitive to their needs. It's not enough to have them wallow in the mud and feed when needed. While they may seem healthy at a glance, swines are susceptible to diseases too, which is why their bodies have to be prepared for any bacteria and viruses that could hit them. When this happens, one must be swift in applying treatment. There's a variety of products available for each type of illness. Yet prevention is always better than cure. Luckily, vaccination is a great way to keep your swine away from diseases. Common ones include foot and mouth disease, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea and African Swine Fever. With vaccination, there's huge chance of lesser economic and emotional loss when there are swine epidemics. Why Vaccination helps? Vaccination boosts a pig's immune system. It works by releasing antigens into the body to stimulate the immune system and help develop immunity to bacteria, microorganisms, parasites and viruses. Antigens are the protein component of infectious agents. When released to the host, the host's body becomes immunized. At this state, the body is induced to release antibodies which fight pathogens. In simple terms, the substance contained in vaccines helps your pig resist illness caused by harmful microorganisms. It reduces risk of catching and spreading a disease. Vaccination is an effective intervention done to prevent spread or decrease a pig's susceptibility to harmful viruses. Injection is considered as the most effective and widely used method of vaccine administration. The administration of the vaccine can be done before, during or after a disease strikes. In some cases, vaccination is more effective when done days before a potential threat arrives. For instance, gilts and sows have to undergo 2 vaccine shots before breeding and another at 3-4 weeks before birthing to prevent stillbirths caused by Leptospira bacteria. Factors like age, size and date of last vaccination affect this, so clearly discuss it with the experts. The injection site and dose have to be determined as well. There are 5 injection sites for pigs: Subcutaneous (under skin), Intramuscular (muscle), Intranasal, Intraperitoneal (abdominal cavity) and Intravenous (vein). Upon veterinary advice, the spots could be the most effective venues for the shots, depending on vaccine type and adjuvants. Vaccine Types Generally, there are two types of vaccines. One, there's the active vaccine and the inactive type. The active vaccine contains live pathogens, weakened, so that they [...]

By |2019-03-15T16:44:34+00:00August 2nd, 2015|Pigs, Animals, Vaccinations, Viral Diseases|0 Comments

Top Pig Diseases Caused By Viruses

There are many viral diseases that can hit pigs. The severity of their effect varies from country to country, from farm to farm. However, knowing what each disease looks like when it affects your pigs may help you contain them to reduce the losses that it would have caused. Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Foot-and-mouth disease would show in how pigs suddenly reduce their food consumption and how they would look depressed. It also comes with fevers reaching about 40.5º C. Piglets affected by the condition usually experience cardiac failure and die. Vesicles of up to 30mm would appear later, and are often found near the coronets and appear a little on the lips and nose. The disease can be transmitted through direct and indirect contact with infected pigs. The virus can spread by saliva, aerosol, blood, nasal discharge, feces, urine, semen, meat or bones of the infected animals, and infected animal by-products. FMD cannot be treated, so the affected pigs should be destroyed. This can be prevented by routine vaccination, although this will only last for six months. Farmers should be cautious of the symptoms to prevent the spread before it gets worse. FMD is highly infectious and can spread rapidly throughout the population of animals, even reaching long distances, depending on the wind. This makes it harder and more costly to control. African Swine Fever This often affects domestic pigs. Its common symptoms include blotching of skin, fever, and the hemorrhaging of internal organs, lymph nodes, and gastrointestinal tract. The virus can spread through direct contact with the infected pigs and fomites, tick bites, ingestion of contaminated uncooked pig by-products, and contact with wild carrier and domestic pigs. The carcass of the affected animals is condemned. All of the herd hit by ASF would become ill and most of them would die. There is no treatment available, which is why some countries infected by the ASF often resort to a slaughter policy to completely eradicate the virus and contain its spread. Affected animals should be kept away from the unexposed animals as a preventive measure. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) This is a highly contagious viral disease among pigs, which has recently affected virus states in the US. It was first diagnosed in the country in May 2013. This causes severe diarrhea and dehydration among pigs. of animals, even reaching long distances, depending on the wind. This makes it harder and more costly to control. African Swine Fever This often affects domestic pigs. Its common symptoms include blotching [...]

By |2019-03-24T21:18:49+00:00May 31st, 2014|Pigs, Viral Diseases|0 Comments
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