Enric Marco comments on the practical implications of a recent research article about PEDv excretion in semen.

The average piglet birth weight from the 3 groups of vaccinated sows was statistically higher than that from the unvaccinated sows.

Modern startup farms may have less pressure of respiratory diseases infection in winter as they usually have good ventilation design. However, the clinical case described here is an App outbreak in a startup farm with modernized ventilation design.

Enric Marco discusses a trial that concludes that the later the infection by M. hyorhinis occurs, the less serious it is. This information can be very useful to devise new control strategies in the era of antibiotic reduction.

The farmer contacted the veterinary surgeon concerning an increase of subcutaneous haemorrhages and bruises in the skin of several piglets in eight different litters. No deaths have yet been attributed to the problem.

Weaning is a critical event in the pig’s life. It is a very important and stressful transition that, if not handled properly, can be responsible for the occurrence of diarrhoea and/or poorly adapted piglets.

This article relates different microbiome profiles to greater or lesser severity in clinical signs, lesions and viral load in a co-infection with PRRS and PCV2 viruses, opening a window of opportunity.

Specific humoral immunity is mediated by glycoproteins called antibodies or immunoglobulins.

Once the first symptoms of the infection emerged in pigs the facility was locked and the possibility to get in from outside was the only used.

This article shows the different measures taken and the strategy followed to eradicate PEDv in a commercial farm: stabilization, creation of a disinfection bubble, monitoring and verification.

This article helps us to define the minimum biosecurity measures that should be internally established to prevent indirect PEDv transmission.

The current diagnostic tests are very powerful, allowing us to detect even small changes in the genome of a virus, but what do they tell us?

We were called for clinical problems on weaners that appeared a few days after a feed transition in a farrow-to-finish farm: swelling of the eyelids and forehead, incoordination, dyspnea and sudden death.

The owner contacted us because he has seen a reduction in performance in recent months, although no decline has been identified in any particular parameter. He says that, overall, “the sows are doing worse".

Does the land altitude, slope or coverage matter?

The farms that apply more vaccines are the ones that score the best in internal biosecurity. The change towards prevention directly leads to both greater use of vaccines and better internal biosecurity, as they are the only means we know to prevent the disease.

The decrease in PCV2a and PCV2b genotypes over time and the increase in PCV2d in 2012 may be due more to other, unknown, factors than to immunological selection resulting from PCV2a-based vaccination.

This case report highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to achieve a correct differential diagnosis.

This case study describes an outbreak in a commercial unit which proved difficult to stop without vaccine. Since 2014 an increasing number of cases of this disease have been reported in Europe though it remains unclear why it has reappeared.

The prevalence of Mycoplasmal pneumonia and pericarditis lesions was significantly higher in pigs weaned at lower weights compared to their heavier cohorts, despite the provision of a superior production system for the lower weight group.

The farm reports a problem of low prolificacy (mean annual live births of 11.91) and low fertility in summer, with a marked increase in acyclic returns.

PCV-2 and PRRS are the most common infectious causes of abortions. Most abortions are also found to occur during the colder months, regardless of their cause.

PCV2 vaccination is nearly universal. Has viral presence decreased after 6 years of vaccination? Could vaccination policies be changed?

In the coming years, the use of antimicrobials will be more closely regulated, following the guidelines set by the WHO in its global report on antimicrobial resistance in 2014.

The farmer, alarmed, calls us describing a clinical picture of abortions in the last third of gestation, weak newborn piglets, stillbirths, mummified piglets, agalactia, sows with fever and small litters.

Assessment of a study, by Enric de Marco, on the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in sows at farrowing in order to reduce piglet mortality and increase the weight of piglets at weaning.

The article provides an alternative to the current vaccination programs that could be the solution for farms with early onset oedema disease. However, this alternative —consisting of vaccinating the dams at the end of gestation to achieve post-weaning piglets immunization—, also raises questions...

At autopsy, haemorrhagic enterocolitis with mucosal oedema, enlarged spleen and haemorrhagic mesentery were observed.

Without the participation in the program of all farms present in the area, progress will be minimal or nil.