Available vaccines for diseases affecting pigs

You can vaccinate your herd against these common diseases.

Leptospirosis

• Causes stillbirths, high piglet mortality rates and abortions, and can cause non-reproductive illness in humans.
• Symptoms can include jaundice, fever, blood in urine and kidney lesions (white spots).
• Diagnosed using clinical signs and blood tests.

Erysipelas

• Causes fever, diamond-shaped red blotches on the skin, arthritis affecting the knee, elbow, stifle, hock and hip joints, abortion, heart disease and can cause death.
• Symptoms can vary greatly based on the acuteness of the infection.

Porcine parvovirus

• Causes reproductive failure in breeding pigs.
• Symptoms present in sows but more commonly in gilts, and include reduced litter size, stillbirths and abortion.
• Diagnosis should be made by a veterinarian from blood tests and clinical signs, and based on animals’ history.

E.coli

• Causes scouring (diarrhoea) in the suckling pig and in pigs after weaning.
• A marked increase in watery excreta of young pigs is a clear sign, and thin, dehydrated, shivering huddling pigs can also be an indicator.
• Vaccinating pigs against this disease is especially important, as an outbreak can be catastrophic for a herd.

Enzootic pneumonia

• Also known as mycoplasma pneumonia.
• Common respiratory disease that reduces growth rates and can kill pigs if newly exposed.
• Predisposes pigs to other respiratory infections, such as porcine pleuropneumonia.
• The agent causing enzootic pneumonia can be carried on the wind and can therefore travel larger distances than other diseases.
• Diagnosis requires clinical and post-mortem inspection.

Actinobacillosis pleuropneumonia (APP)

• Bacterial infection that affects the respiratory system of pigs, often growers.
• Common signs are include either sudden death with a bloody discharge from the nose or lethargy and respiratory problems such as abdominal breathing and coughing.
• Can escalate rapidly in an animal and an accurate diagnosis and treatment advice from a veterinarian is strongly recommended.

Glässer's disease

• Respiratory infection causing pneumonia, heart sac infection, peritonitis and pleurisy.
• Common in piglets, weaners and growers.
• Symptoms include lethargy and depression, high temperature and reduced appetite.
• Diagnosis is most commonly made through post-mortem examination.

Ileitis

• Intestinal disease most commonly affecting pigs aged 3–12 months.
• The acute form of ileitis presents as a bloody diarrhoea and death, while the chronic form occurs more gradually and symptoms last for up to several weeks.
• Veterinary diagnosis is required as chronically affected animals often appear outwardly healthy, though symptoms can include pasty, watery or bloodstained faeces.