Investigating Early Death in Piglets - Coursework Example

Investigating Early Death in Piglets By Students Name Course Code + Name Instructor Institution Date (2505 words) Introduction Death of piglets has enormous economic significance not only to farmer but to countries and pig products consumers. Food production is critical due to the growing human population worldwide. Many places are increasing experiencing food shortage and in some place people are starving to death. Therefore agricultural production is critical. The rearing of pigs is one of the important food producing farming practices. Worldwide, a number of countries rear pigs and export large quantities of pig meat products to other country. Thus pig farming, in addition to supplementing food production in these countries, is an important foreign currency earner enabling the exporting countries to meet their balance of payment. Similarly, pig farming industry is a source of employment for many people around the world. Therefore, loss of piglets results in an economic loss for the farmers and countries. It can also result in shortages of pig products leading to increased prices. There are many factors contributing to the death of piglets. These include infectious and non-infectious diseases. These diseases have the potential to devastatingly kill off piglet populations resulting in the unimaginable losses to farmers. The non-infectious factors include piglet factors such as birth weight and vitality, and sow factors such as crushing, colostrum and nutrition during pregnancy. The infectious factors include bacterial infections and viral. The non-infectious factors Birth weight Birth weight is critical for the survival of the piglets. Piglets with low birth weight have a high chance of dying. Similarly piglets born with higher birthweight have increased chances of dying. According to Dyck & Swierstra, piglet mortality increases with an increase in birth weight1. Also a piglet litter that exhibits a considerable variation in birth weight also experiences more deaths compared to a litter that has least variable birthweight. Piglet born with small bodies seemed to have breathing difficulties. They primarily died of due to lack of oxygen. Such piglets have a high chance of dying at birth. Also, low weight accounts for a large number of still births2. A number of piglets that died exhibited low growth rate or weight gain between birth to death days later or before weaning. This is an indication that the piglet did not get enough milk or nutrition to enable them gain adequate necessary weight before weaning. Most, the piglets born with less weight experience this challenge. According to Spincer et al., small piglet cannot survive under normal husbandry practices since they are weak2. They are not able to compete form the sow’s milk with the larger piglets and die due to starvation. Furthermore, they are easily crushed by the sow. In the study, 71% of the death comprised of piglets born with bellow average weight. Vitality Some piglets lack vitality because they are either born with defects or are weak. Lack of vitality is a huge cause of deaths in piglets. Small and week piglet lack vitality and may die irrespective of proper nutrition and care. Vitality decreases with the size of the liter since large litters are likely to have more underweight and vulnerable piglets as compared to small litters. The weaklings die due hypoglycemia as well as hypothermia. Some piglets also lose their vitality to anemia. Such piglets are either born anemic or become anemic due to excessive bleeding from their umbilical cord after birth. Sprayleg, a birth defect detectable in two to four hours after, is yet another source of lack of vitality. Piglets with such defect cannot compete effectively against the rest of the litter. As a result, they die due to hypothermia or hypoglycemia. In most cases, the affect piglets usually have below average weight and may take a longer time before having their first suck. Other causes of poor vitality include congenital deformities such as cleft palate, anal atresia, renal hypoplasia, raptured balder, umbilical hernia, volvulus, hydrocephalus, and damaged spinal cord2. Glastornury reported trauma, starvation and suffocation as the leading factors causing the deaths3. The three factors also affect piglets’ vitality. A study by Baxter et al. found that low birthweight correlated with lower rectal temperatures and poor body shape4. The piglets have poor thermoregulation mechanism which also contributed to death within 24 hours after birth 4,5. Saw factors The main saw factors that contribute to the death of the piglets include crushing, colostrum and nutrition during pregnancy. Crushing There is a high frequency of saws crushing their piglet leading to death, or injuries that finally result in the death to the victim piglets. Various studies observed that pigs frequently crush their piglets unknowingly. Although it is accidental, lack of vitality, small size and spray legs increase the risk of a piglet being crushed by the sow6,7,8,9. Other factors that can contribute to crushing include the restlessness of the saw. As Lay et al. notes that the sow's behavior is a critical contributor to whether it will crush its piglets or nurse them to weaning10. Also, the size of the sow may limit its ability to control its own body or weight. According to Lay et al. large sows have the least control of their movement and thus have a high chance of crushing their piglets10. High parity sows also have a challenge and easily crush their piglets with their feet compared to low parity horse. Keeping piglets and sow in confined space increases the risk of crushing, however, keeping the piglets outdoors and the sow loose reduces the chances of crushing. Colostrum Colostrum is the first milk produced after birth. According to Quesnel et al. a sow produces colostrum the following furrowing for 12 to 24 hours11. Colostrum is highly nutritious and contains many other bioactive compound necessary for the piglets development. According to Deviller et al., the components support piglets' body processes such as thermoregulation, intestinal development, and development of passive immunity12. Colostrum imbues the piglets with hormones that balance the piglets bodies’ hormonal processes. It also provides metabolisable energy keeping them strong. These components enable the piglets to get through their first day13. There is a correlation between colostrum intake and piglet health, temperature and strength 24 hours after birth. Therefore, the time between birth and suckling is critical. The bioactive components in colostrum also decrease rapidly within the 24 hours. As Rooke and Bland noted, colostrum reduces piglets’ susceptibility to illness even after the weaning process14. The concentration of the bioactive elements in the piglet’s body is also critical and it correlates to the colostrum intake15. Failure to get adequate colostrum is thus dangerous. However, several factors can affect the colostrum intake. They include vitality at birth, number of piglets in the letter, birth order, and the sow nutrition16,17. A sow’s production of claustrum is therefore very critical. Although variable, failure to produce adequate colostrum negatively affects the piglets and reduces their chances of survival. About 6-17% of pre-weaning piglets deaths occur due to poor milk production by the sows. Factor that affect colostrum yield include water and food intake, breed, sanitation, energy status, sow parity and the farrowing conditions15,18. There are many other health and environmental conditions that can affect a sow and subsequently its milk production. Nutrition during pregnancy Nutrition during pregnancy is essential for the development of the fetuses. The nutrition has a direct impact on the piglet’s vitality and weight at birth. In a study by Campos et al., piglets’ birth weight has a direct correlation with the sows’ energy intake19. Sows need protein for fetus growth20. According to Kim et al., an imbalance or deficiency in protein can result in low birth weight. Supplementing protein is thus important21. Also, as Theil et al the sow's nutrition during the end of the gestation has an enormous influence on colostrum production and its composition22. Nutrition also helps in the development of the mammary glands in preparation for gestation. However, overfeeding can negatively affect the sow and result in inhibition of the formation of lactose leading to low production of colostrum and subsequently the piglets' colostrum intake. Infectious diseases Various infectious diseases affect piglets and result in their death before they reach the weaning stage. The mostly result from infectious virus and bacteria. Bacterial infections Various bacterial infections affect piglets and lead to preweaning deaths. They include diarrhea and meningitis. The bacteria infection affects the commercial production of the piglets by culling their population. Bacteria result in a wide range of illnesses. Bacterial infection causative agents that lead bacterial diarrhea include Clostridium perfringers, Campylobacter spp, C Coli, Cperfringesns and Escherichia coli. Diarrhea is an enormous challenge to pig farming since it increases the rate of mortality. In a case-controlled study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ruiz et al. examined the effect of the bacteria strains the lead to diarrhea23. Bacteria Histopathology Ruiz et al. various methods to test the sample for different pathogens. The method included isolation, biochemical methods, isolation and PCR α, β, ε e ι and cpb2 genes tests23. Histopathological samples were collected from the piglets’ rectum and diarrhea. 40% of the 174 samples they tested were positive for E. coli. In a different study, 81% of the firms that participated in were positive for C. coli and 40% of all the samples were positive for the bacteria. Clostridium perfringens was positive in 23% of the diarrhea samples. Different samples showed various variations in the quantities of the bacteria and the diversity of the bacteria. Regon et al., focused on the isolation of Escherichia Coli from piglet diarrhea24. Using serological typing, their study isolated various strains of Escherichia Coli in piglets’ diarrhea. The samples used were from the intestines and diarrheic feces. One of the strains identified was enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) which is noted to be leading bacterial cause of mortality. Facilitated by fimbriae receptors that enable attachment on the villous enterocytes, ETEC easily colonizes the small intestine. There are various fimbriae that the E. coli bacteria express. The fimbriae are clinical significant in the cases of diarrhea. Regon et al. study effectively grouped the diarrheic bacteria into 20 subgroups24. The subgroups are distributed variably around the world. For instance, subgroup O80 was reported in over 23% of the strains of in E. coli isolated from samples of diarrheic piglets from the western region of China. Chan et al. explored Clostridium perfringens type A, a bacteria that thrive in the colon and the lower intestines of gigs as well as other warm-blooded animals25. C. perfringens is highly prevalent in diarrheic piglets. According to Chan et al., C. perfringens is a leading cause of diarrhea-related death of pigs25. Hygiene, humidity, and temperature in the farrowing areas influence the spread of the bacteria. Morin et al. also reported that ETEC & C. perfringens as the primary bacteria responsible for neonatal diarrhea26. There is a high prevalence of these bacteria in diarrheic and intestinal specimens were high. Meningitis and septicemia are yet other common bacterial infections the affects piglets. According to Johnnson magnetism is a product of S. suts type 3 septicemia and Streptococcus suts-like meningitis result in scores of piglets deaths27. Histopathologic examination of tissues for piglets that succumbed to the two bacteria reveals multiple tissue abnormality. There is rhinitis in moderation and viral bodies27. Lymphatic tissues are congested and reactive. Venous congestion was also present in the kidney and liver. Septicemia results in infarcts in the spleen. Virus infection Various viral infections also affect piglets. For instance, infectious myocarditis syndrome usually occurs in neonatal and late-term piglets. It is caused by an unidentified virus. The infection leads to mummification, stillbirths, and preweaning deaths. The largest number of infected piglets dies before weaning as compared to mummification and stillbirths. This infection is commonly referred to as porcine myocarditis (PMC) 28. There is also porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) and porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD). PCVAD primarily results from PCV2. PCV2 belongs to t genus Circovirus and family Circoviradae. Other virus agents that lead to PCVAD include porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and Mycoplasma. Piglets also die due to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) which has been very devastating in many Asian countries as well as the US. An outbreak in German in 2014 led to the loss of 70% of the piglet population30. There is also coronavirus and Group A rotavirus (Ruiz, 2016). Virus infections also affect the adult pig and in most instances, it is the sows that transmit them to the piglets. Virus histopathology The histopathology of the specimens from the piglets that succumb to various viral infections reveal various details about these pathogens. McOrist et al reported that PMC affected piglets exhibited enormous changes in the subcutaneous swelling all over the thorax and head28. As a result, there is deformity and increased accumulation of fluids resulting in “jelly piglets” 28. The affect piglets also exhibited enlarged hearts, hydropericardium, and accumulation of peritoneal and pleural transudate. Some piglets had irregular myocardial pallor on abdominal and thoracic viscera. The autopsies of dead piglets confirmed hydropericardium, temperate subcutaneous edema, accumulation of peritoneal and pleural transudate, and thinned but flabby ventricular membranes that were full of ecchymotic hemorrhage 28. The histopathological findings relate to PMC indicated acute to semi-acute multifocal non-suppurative myocarditis and myonecrosis. Inflammations were localized and mild. They had a minimal destruction of the myofibre. Some piglets had experienced myocardial fibrosis earlier than others. There was also evidence of pneumonia, hepatitis, encephalitis, and lymphadenitis 28. Serological tests did not reveal the presence of any unidentifiable virus. PDNS hepatology revealed systematic vasculitis, fibrinous glomerulonephritis, necrotizing glomerulonephritis29. The glomerulonephritis were sensitive to antigen –immune complex type 3. Enteritis associated with PCV2 had granulomatous enteritis and other lesions within the peyer’s patches. Other lymphatic tissues were clean (Gillespie, 2009). PCVAD exhibited lymphoid depletion, histiocyte replacement within the lymphoid tissues. The piglets also showed intracytoplasmic inclusion in their bodies. The lungs fill up, collapse, turn in color and get molted. There is enlargement of various body organs such as the lymphatics. In Neuropathy associated with PCV2 histopathology exhibited cerebellar lymph histiocytic meningitis. Histopathology was mainly done using hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (ICH) (Gillespie, 2009). Antigens were tested in more than a single sample tissue from the lymphatic system. This is the primary method used to diagnose the viruses. However, serological tests can also be used for diagnosis. PEDV histopathology revealed transparent small intestine walls and colony. The lumen exhibited watery, yellowish forth liquid. Paraffin preserved tissues were stained used hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Atrophic enteritis was the main approach used in this histology 29. Conclusion In conclusion, piglets succumb to a range of infectious and non-infectious causes. The infectious causes include bacteria’s and viruses. Histopathological test revel that E. coli, Clostridium perfringens type A, S. suts type 3 septicemia and Streptococcus sut-like meningitis, are the leading infectious bacterial causes of preweaning piglet deaths. PMC, PCVAD, PCV2, and PEDV are the leading infectious virus leading to death. There are also noninfectious piglet and sow factors the also contribute to the deaths. Irrespective of the cause of deaths, preweaning piglet death has an enormous economic effect on the pig farming industry. It undermines the effective establishment of swine herds and thus limits the potential of most firms. References 1. Dyck GW, Swierstra EE. Causes of Piglet Death From Birth To Weaning. Canadian Journal of Animal Science. 1987 Jun; 67(2): 543-547 2. Spincer EM, Driesen SJ, Fahy VA, Horton BJ, Sims LD, Jones RT, et al. Causes of preweaning mortality on a large intensive piggery, Aust Vet J. 1986 Mar; 63(3):71-5. 3. Glastonbur JRW. Preweaning Mortality In The Pig Pathological Findings in Piglets Dying Before and During Parturition. Airstralian Veterinary Journal. 1971; 53: 282-287. 4. Baxter EM, Jarvis S, D’Eath RB, Ross DW, Robson SK, Farish M, et al. Investigating the behavioural and physiological indicators of neonatal survival in pigs. Theriogenology. 2008 Feb; 69 (2008): 773–783. 5. Muns R, Nuntapaitoon M, Tummaruk P. Non-infectious causes of pre-weaning mortality in piglets. Livestock Science. 2016 Feb; 184 (2016) 46–57. 6. Persdotter L. Piglet mortality in commercial piglet production herds, Master’s Thesis, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 2010. 7. Roehe R, Shrestha NP, Mekkawy W, Baxter EM, Knap PW, Smurthwaite K.M, et al. Genetic analyses of piglet survival and individual birth weight on first generation data of a experiment for piglet survival under outdoor conditions. Livestock Science. 2009; 121(1-2): 173-181 8. Weber R, Keil NM., Fehr M, Horat R. Factors affecting piglet mortality in loose farrowing systems on commercial farms. Livestock Science. 2009; 124(1-2): 216-222. 9. Andersen IL, Tajet GM, Haukvik IA, Kongsrid S, Bøe K. E. Relationship between postnatal piglet mortality, environmental factors and management around farrowing in herds with loose-housed, lactating sows. Acta Agriculturae Scand, 2007 Jun; Section A: 57, 38-45 10. Lay DC, Matteri Jr. RL, Carroll JA, Fangman T J, Safranski TJ. Preweaning survival in swine. Journal of Animal Science. 2002; 80(1): E74-E86 11. Quesnel H, Farmer C, Devillers N. Colostrum intake: influence on piglet performance and factors variation. Livest.Sci. 2012;146(203): 105–114. 12. Devillers N, Farmer C, LeDividich J, Prunier A. Variability of colostrum yield and colostrum intake in swine. Animal 2007 Aug; 1(7):1033–1041. 13. Herpin P, Louveau I, Damon M, LeDividich, J. Biology of Growing Animals, Biology of Metabolism in Growing Animals. Elsevier; 2005. Chapter14 Environmental and hormonal regulation of energy metabolism in early development of the pig. 14. Rooke JA, Bland IM. The acquisition of passive immunity in the new-born piglet. Livest. Prod. Sci. 2002; 78(1): 13–23. 15. Quesnel H. Colostrum production by sows: variability of colostrum yield and immunoglobulin Gconcentrations. Animal, 2011 Aug; 5(10): 1546–1553. 16. Theil PK, Flummer C, Hurley WL, Kristensen NB, Labouriau RL, Sørensen, MT. Mechanistic model to predict colostrum intake based on deuterium oxide dilution technique data and impact of gestation and pre-farrowing diets on piglet intake and sow yield of colostrum. J. Anim. Sci. 2014 Dec;92(12):5507-19. 17. Decaluwé R, Maes D, Wuyts B, Cools A, Piepers S, Janssens, GPJ. Piglets' colostrum in take associates with daily weight gain and survival until weaning. Livest.Sci. 2014 Apr; 162(1):185–192. 18. Ferrari CV, Sbardella PE. Bernardi ML, Coutinho ML, VazJr IS, Wentz I et al. Effect of birth weight and colostrum intake on mortality and performance of piglets after cross-fostering in sows of different parities. Prev.Vet.Med. 2014 Jun; 114 (1-2): 259–266. 19. Campos PHRF, Silva BAN, Donzele JL, Oliveira RFM, Knol EF. Effects of sow nutrition during gestation on within-litter birth weight variation: a review. Animal. 2012 May; 6(5):797–806. 20. De Vos M, Che L, Huygelen V, Willemen S, Michiels J, Van Cruchten, et al. Nutritional interventions to prevent and rear low-birth-weight piglets. J.Anim.Physiol. Anim.Nutr. 2014 Aug; 98(4): 609–619. 21. Kim SW, Hurley WL, Wu G, Ji F. Ideal amino acid balance for sows during gestation and lactation. J.Anim.Sci. 2009 Apr; 87(14): E123–E132. 22. Theil PK, Lauridsen C, Quesnel H. Neonatal piglet survival: impact of sow nutrition around parturition on fetal glycogen deposition and production and composition of colostrum and transient milk. Animal 2014 Jul;8(7):1021-30. 23. Ruiz VL, Bersano JG, Carvalho AF, Catroxo MHB, Chiebao DP, Gregori F. et al. Case–control study of pathogens involved in piglet diarrhea. BMC Res Notes 2016 Jan; 9:22. 24. Regon M, Pathak DC, Tamuli SM, Baruah GK. Serotyping of Escherichia coli isolated from piglet diarrhea. Veterinary World. 2014; EISSN: 2231-0916 25. Chan G, Farzan A, Prescott JF, & Friendship R. How do swine practitioners and veterinary pathologists arrive at a diagnosis of Clostridium perfringens type A enteritis in neonatal piglets? Can Vet J. 2013 May 54(5):504–506 26. Morin M, Turgeon D, Jolette J, Robinson Y, Phaneuf JB, Sauvageau R, et al. Neonatal Diarrhea of Pigs in Quebec: Infectious Causes of Significant Outbreaks. Can J Comp Med. 1983 Jan; 47(1): 11-17. 27. Johannson LM. Meningitis and septicemia in a 7-week-old piglet caused by dual streptococcal infection, Can Vet J. 2006 Aug; 47(8): 796–798. 28. Mcorist S, Thornton E, Peake P, Walker R, Robson S, Finlaison D, et al. An infectious myocarditis syndrome affecting late-term and neonatal piglets. Aust Vet J. 2004 Aug; 82(8): 509-510 29. Gillespie J, Opriessnig T, Meng XJ, Pelzer K, Buechner-Maxwell V. Porcine Circovirus Type 2 and Porcine Circovirus-Associated Disease. J Vet Intern Med 2009 Nov-Dec; 23(6): 1151–1163. 30. Stadler J, Zoels S, Fux R, Hanke D, Pohlmann A, Blome S, et al. Emergence of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in southern Germany. BMC Veterinary Research . 2015. 11:142 DOI 10.1186/s12917-015-0454-1. Read More

This is an indication that the piglet did not get enough milk or nutrition to enable them gain adequate necessary weight before weaning. Most, the piglets born with less weight experience this challenge. According to Spincer et al., small piglet cannot survive under normal husbandry practices since they are weak2. They are not able to compete form the sow’s milk with the larger piglets and die due to starvation. Furthermore, they are easily crushed by the sow. In the study, 71% of the death comprised of piglets born with bellow average weight.

Vitality Some piglets lack vitality because they are either born with defects or are weak. Lack of vitality is a huge cause of deaths in piglets. Small and week piglet lack vitality and may die irrespective of proper nutrition and care. Vitality decreases with the size of the liter since large litters are likely to have more underweight and vulnerable piglets as compared to small litters. The weaklings die due hypoglycemia as well as hypothermia. Some piglets also lose their vitality to anemia.

Such piglets are either born anemic or become anemic due to excessive bleeding from their umbilical cord after birth. Sprayleg, a birth defect detectable in two to four hours after, is yet another source of lack of vitality. Piglets with such defect cannot compete effectively against the rest of the litter. As a result, they die due to hypothermia or hypoglycemia. In most cases, the affect piglets usually have below average weight and may take a longer time before having their first suck. Other causes of poor vitality include congenital deformities such as cleft palate, anal atresia, renal hypoplasia, raptured balder, umbilical hernia, volvulus, hydrocephalus, and damaged spinal cord2.

Glastornury reported trauma, starvation and suffocation as the leading factors causing the deaths3. The three factors also affect piglets’ vitality. A study by Baxter et al. found that low birthweight correlated with lower rectal temperatures and poor body shape4. The piglets have poor thermoregulation mechanism which also contributed to death within 24 hours after birth 4,5. Saw factors The main saw factors that contribute to the death of the piglets include crushing, colostrum and nutrition during pregnancy.

Crushing There is a high frequency of saws crushing their piglet leading to death, or injuries that finally result in the death to the victim piglets. Various studies observed that pigs frequently crush their piglets unknowingly. Although it is accidental, lack of vitality, small size and spray legs increase the risk of a piglet being crushed by the sow6,7,8,9. Other factors that can contribute to crushing include the restlessness of the saw. As Lay et al. notes that the sow's behavior is a critical contributor to whether it will crush its piglets or nurse them to weaning10.

Also, the size of the sow may limit its ability to control its own body or weight. According to Lay et al. large sows have the least control of their movement and thus have a high chance of crushing their piglets10. High parity sows also have a challenge and easily crush their piglets with their feet compared to low parity horse. Keeping piglets and sow in confined space increases the risk of crushing, however, keeping the piglets outdoors and the sow loose reduces the chances of crushing. Colostrum Colostrum is the first milk produced after birth.

According to Quesnel et al. a sow produces colostrum the following furrowing for 12 to 24 hours11. Colostrum is highly nutritious and contains many other bioactive compound necessary for the piglets development. According to Deviller et al., the components support piglets' body processes such as thermoregulation, intestinal development, and development of passive immunity12. Colostrum imbues the piglets with hormones that balance the piglets bodies’ hormonal processes. It also provides metabolisable energy keeping them strong.

These components enable the piglets to get through their first day13.

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