Diarrhea in lactating piglets: differential diagnostic
Ana CarvajalPedro Rubio Nistal
08-Aug-2011 (14 years 9 months 28 days ago)
08-Aug-2011 (14 years 9 months 28 days ago)
| Etiologic agent or disease | Age | Clinical Profile | Lesion Profile | Epidemiology | Mortality |
| Escherichia coli | Any age. More frequent from 1 to 4 days old, and at 3 weeks old. |
Depends on the strain. Usually pasty or liquid diarrhea with dehydration and a stained perinea. Alkaline pH. |
Stomach full of curdled milk. Distended and congested small intestine. Liquid content with mucus and gas. |
Morbidity: very variable according to the strain. From piglets or isolated litters, up to almost 100 %. More frequent in primiparous litters or litters of sows with hypogalactia or agalactia. |
Depends on the strain, sometimes very high. |
|
Cl. perfringens Type C (Newborn Hemorrhagic Enteritis) |
12-72 hours. | Yellowish, bloody diarrhea, prostration and vomiting. Subacute forms with yellowish feces, with necrotic residues. | Bloody ascites: Small intestine: intense hemorrhagic enteritis, above all the jejunum and ileum. Subacute: small intestine with a friable intestinal mucous wall with necrotic membranes. |
Most associated with dirty farrowing pens or udders, although not always. Sometimes frequent in new farms or in primiparous litters. |
Acute: almost 100 % of piglets affected. |
| Cl. perfringens Type A (Necrotic enteritis) | Can appear from 1 to 7 days, or later. | Yellowish or greyish pasty diarrhea that stains the perinea. Unsightly, dehydration and stunted growth. |
Small intestine: pasty content. Necrotic material adhered to the mucous membrane. |
Affects some piglets per litter, sometimes the heaviest. Slow dissemination. |
Variable, can be high. |
| Cl. difficile (Neonatal typhlocolitis) | 1-7 days. | Yellowish and pasty diarrhea. Dyspnoea and abdominal distention. | Ascites and/or abdominal distention. Ascending colon and coecum: visible mesenteric edema. Intestinal wall sometimes with focal necrosis. |
Appears in the first week of life. Usually affects a large part of the piglets in some litters. |
Over 50 % |
|
Isospora suis (Coccidiosis) |
6-14 days (not before 5 days, and more frequent around 7 days) | Yellowish, pasty diarrhea, turning liquid later. No response to antibiotics. Very dirty piglets. Bristled hair. | Jejunum and ileum mainly. Pasty content and congestive to fibrinonecrotic enteritis. No lesions in the large intestine. | Slow dissemination, increasing the morbidity which can reach up to 80% | Low:<5 % |
| Rotavirus | 1-5 weeks. | Watery or pasty diarrhea, more serious in newborns. Acid pH feces. No response to antibiotics. | Milk or curd in the stomach. Small intestine wall thinned. | Epizootic form (rare): quick start and rapid dissemination. Epizootic form: affects isolated litters. Variable morbidity, can reach up to 80% | Low: 5% to 25 % |
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Others, rare in lactation: |
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| Salmonelosis | Around 3 weeks. | Watery or liquid diarrhea. | Small and large intestine. | Morbidity: up to 50 % | Up to 50 % |
| Swine Disentery | More than 2 weeks. | Watery diarrhea with blood and mucous. | Only large intestine. | Very rare, only in some litters or in some piglets. | Low:0-5 % |