PNEUMONIA IN PIGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 23

PNEUMONIA IN PIGS

“LARGELY PREVENTABLE” AUSTRALIAN EXPERTS VIEWS "This disease,” writes Mr. W. L. Hindmarsh, B.V.Se., of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture in “Country Life,” loss to farmers. Pew piggeries can be visited without some indication of the presence of pneumonia being seen. Examination of the lungs of pigs killed at abattoirs and bacon factories has shown that as many as 70 per cent, of the lungs seen were affected with pneumonia. When it is borne in mind that pneumonia is largely preventable, it is to be regretted that the necessary control measures are not taken by farmers. “Unfavourable conditions, which are called predisposing causes, are associated with faulty management, and include; Damp, low-lying situations for piggeries and yards; inadequate shelter and consequent exposure to inclement weather; damp, cold flooring in sties; and inadequate diet. “The symptoms vary according to the form of the disease, which may be acute, sub-acute, or chronic. The acute form is not commonly seen on farms. It is characterised by intense fever, laboured respiration and sometimes reddening of the skin, especially along the belly. The pig refuses food, hides in a dark corner, staggers if forced to walk and has marked thirst. Death usually occurs within four days from the time when it first appeared ill. The chronic form of swine pneumonia is not characterised by definite symptoms. There may be a capricious appetite, failure to put on condition, constant cougjhing (especially noted when pigs are moved), eczematous patches on the skin (which is dull in colour), and laboured breathing. Sometimes the pig will develop the chronic form of the disease, following a sub-acute attack. Such pigs remain stunted and do not put on condition. CONTROL MEASURES “Treatment of sick animals with medicaments is not advised; pigs slightly affected make a rapid recovery. Where pigs are more- severely affected it is not profitable to try and cure them. Many die, and those that do make a recovery are generally stunted, unthrifty, and slow to fatten. Prom an economic poiht of view it is better to destroy them at once. “The following preventive measures are recommended: All apparently healthy pigs should be removed from those showing signs of pneumonia. Do not remove the sick pigs, and allow the healthy pigs to remain in the infected sties and runs, but take the healthy pigs out and place in new uninfected yards. “All sick pigs should be destroyed and their bodies burned. “If the sties which housed the sick pigs are not of solid construction, they should be burned where they stand. The yards should not be used again for pigs, but, if possible, be limed and placed under cultivation. “Where the sties are well built and of expensive construction, they should be thoroughly disinfected. One of the most effective methods of disinfecting a sty is to scorch all the walls and floor (when dry) with a brazing lamp. Later they may be sprayed with a 5 per cent, solution of a coaltar disinfectant.

“New sties should be erected on a fresh site and care taken that only healthy pigs are introduced. “All newly-purchased pigs should be isolated for at least three weeks before being placed in the piggery. They can thus be kept under observation and any sign of ill-health noted.” VALUES OF FODDER A Russian research worker, Lavinor, recently tried several foods as supplements to grass of average quality, and found that their effectiveness was in the order—millet, oats, linseed cake, bran and barley. It may be stressed that the first and second places wer taken by cereals. Eckles in America decided that the feeding of cereals in addition to their grazing ration, paid in the long run, because the cows kept up their yields better during the back end of the season.