When you get sick, you go to your doctor for advice, right? So we asked veterinarian Dr. Matheus Costa, who specializes in swine health at the University of Saskatchewan: what do you do when pigs get sick?
Dr. Costa outlines the steps that veterinarians and farmers work through to diagnose, treat and prevent the disease from spreading to other animals.
Diagnosis
The first thing the veterinarian has to do is to diagnose what is making the animal sick. Just like with humans, illnesses can be caused by a variety of sources, such as exposure to toxins or heavy metals and even hereditary diseases passed down from the parent animals. Pigs can also show symptoms of illness from things in their environment that are making them unwell. A poor water supply leading to dehydration, temperatures that are too hot or too cold, being bullied by aggressive pigs in their pen, and even boredom can have an impact on their health. Farmers carefully manage what their pigs eat and drink and they create environments that are safe, and reduce aggression and boredom to ensure their pigs are as healthy as can be.
Sometimes illness comes from an infectious disease (like viruses, bacteria, fungi) that needs to be diagnosed and treated to stop the spread to other animals and prevent it from recurring.
Just like a doctor does with human patients, veterinarians examine the animal, review its health history (which is rigorously catalogued in the farmer’s files), and identify its symptoms (cough, fever, diarrhea). They then collect the appropriate samples for laboratory tests. This might include nose swabs, blood samples, feces, and many other types of samples that will help identify the infection and its origins. When all of this information is collected, it is used to determine what illness the pig is suffering from so it can be treated accordingly.
Treatment
Once the cause of the disease is identified, the veterinarian formulates a treatment plan to help the pig recover and prevent the spread to other animals. Like in human medicine, treatments are specific to the pig’s symptoms and any medications prescribed are used within the recommended dosage.
There are many treatment options available to veterinarians. Antibiotics are only used when bacterial infections are the source of the illness. In this case, they destroy the bacteria and help manage the symptoms to relieve the pig’s symptoms. Anti-inflammatories can be prescribed to control fevers so that the pig can eat and drink normally, which helps them recover faster. Sometimes piglets need electrolytes to combat dehydration, which also assists them with fighting infection and making a full recovery. Occasionally a vaccine is needed to protect the whole population of the barn and prevent a disease from spreading or recurring. There is also more research being done in the area of probiotics, which are live microorganisms that can be taken to help prevent disease.
Prevention
Pig farmers have a responsibility to ensure that:
- their pigs have enough food and water
- the environment is comfortable
- Pigs can express natural behaviours
- their animals are healthy
To do this, farmers provide temperature controlled barns, access to clean, fresh water and enriched living quarters (full of toys and things the pigs can play with to keep them from boredom). All these things also help prevent disease.
Biosecurity refers to a series of protocols that help keep animals healthy. It is a priority on all Canadian hog farms. Biosecurity measures, including disinfecting showers, sterilizing equipment and clothing, and limiting visitors, are designed to prevent diseases from spreading between herds and crossing from humans to animals.
Preventing diseases in animals is a collaborative effort between farmers, veterinarians and government agencies to ensure animals are looked after and protected. This includes putting plans in place to be able to effectively deal with sick animals.
