Anyone who decides to start pig farming must remember that for proper organization of production it is necessary to provide conditions for the animals. You should not only feed and care for pigs properly, but also be aware of common diseases. Among the most dangerous pathologies is colibacillosis in pigs. Knowing its symptoms, methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention, the livestock can be saved as much as possible.
Causes and pathogens
The primary cause of colibacillosis is considered to be the pathogenic bacillus Escherichia coli. Today, there are more than 9,000 of its variations. Only a few of them are capable of infecting pigs. The most widespread are two types: enterotoxigenic and enteroinvasive.
The bacteria are highly resistant to different environmental conditions - they live in soil and water for about 70 days, in feces - 30 days. When heated to 80 ⁰C, they remain viable for no more than 15 minutes; when boiled, they die immediately. The source of the pathogenic bacillus is most often infected or recovered pigs. Sows often transmit colibacillosis to piglets through feces, urine, and colostrum. Another route of infection is water, food, utensils. Pathogenic strains can be transmitted by rodents.
Several factors act as provoking factors:
- lack of micro and macroelements;
- unbalanced diet;
- lack of sunlight;
- lack of full walking.
Symptoms and forms of the disease
The state of the animal’s immune system and the pathogenicity of the bacillus affect how colibacillosis proceeds:
- super sharp or lightning fast;
- acute - reaches a peak;
- subacute or descending towards recovery;
- chronically or for a long time.
The main symptoms of colibacillosis include:
- diarrhea;
- dehydration of animals;
- general intoxication;
- refusal to eat;
- violation of movement coordination;
- convulsions;
- body temperature reaches 42 ⁰C;
- damage to internal organs as a result of the spread of infection;
- exhaustion of the body.
In small piglets, infection is indicated by unformed stool, mucus in the nasal passages, cyanosis of the integument, swelling of the eyelids, submandibular part, and neck.
The symptoms of colibacillosis depend on the form of the pathology - septic, enterotoxemic, enteritic.
Septic
This form is observed in newborn piglets. The course of the pathology can be acute or hyperacute. Death in young animals occurs within 1-2 days. The rate at which the disease develops depends on how quickly the bacteria enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. External signs of colibacillosis may be as follows:
- complete refusal of animals to eat;
- depressed lethargic state of piglets;
- persistently high body temperature;
- change in coordination of movements;
- heart and respiratory failure;
- purulent discharge from the eyes;
- uncontrollable diarrhea;
- dehydration of the body;
- general blood poisoning as a result of infection.
Enterotoxemic
After piglets are weaned from the sow, they may be affected by the enterotoxemic form of colibacillosis. It is acute, the first manifestations are observed after 3-12 hours. Mortality is up to 50% of the population. After the rod penetrates the small intestine, animals experience a number of symptoms:
- loss of appetite;
- the animal becomes overly excitable due to damage to the central nervous system;
- twitching reaction in response to touching the piglet's skin;
- convulsions;
- the animal walks in a circle;
- diarrhea;
- transition to a state of collapse.
Enteritic
In this form, the pathology occurs subacutely or chronically. Animal mortality is low. The disease is determined by the individual’s lethargy, apathy, complete refusal to eat, uncontrollable diarrhea, and dehydration.
Methods for diagnosing the disease
To diagnose colibacillosis, clinical symptoms and animal feces are assessed. If mortality has already begun, samples from dead individuals should be sent for research.For analysis, fresh feces are collected from several (5-10) piglets. To ensure that the results are undistorted, material from individuals that were not given antibiotics is tested. If pathogenic bacteria are isolated from the spleen and brain, the diagnosis of colibacillosis is confirmed.
After death, infected piglets are visually found to have bloody fluid in the lungs, serous fluid in the pericardial region, hemorrhages in the intestines, swelling of the lymph nodes, flabbiness of the liver and kidneys, emaciated and pale muscles.
Making a diagnosis of colibacillosis presupposes the need to exclude other pathologies: dysentery, enteritis, erysipelas, plague.
Rules for the treatment of colibacillosis (escherichiosis) in piglets
The effectiveness of treatment for colibacillosis depends on how quickly it is started. The disease spreads rapidly, so you should not hesitate to call a special service. Based on the tests, the veterinarian prescribes the dosage of medications taking into account the age, weight and condition of the animals. Treatment of escherichiosis consists of eliminating the symptoms:
- dehydration - use sodium chloride;
- disorders of the gastrointestinal tract - use probiotics, drugs to combat inflammation;
- cardiac dysfunction - caffeine benzoate;
- poisoning of the body - enterosgel, activated carbon.
Piglets are offered food with a high content of vitamin C, which helps restore the animals’ immunity, and they begin to eat better.
How dangerous is the disease?
Colibacillosis poses a great threat to pigs for several reasons:
- piglets are affected at a very early age;
- bacteria spread very quickly;
- the piglets' bodies rapidly lose water due to diarrhea;
- acidosis occurs;
- after bacteria penetrate the blood and lymph, general infection occurs;
- Mortality due to infection is up to 100%.
Application of the vaccine
Vaccination is considered the best way to combat the disease. In order for piglets to receive immunity, the sow is vaccinated a month and a half before farrowing twice with an interval of 2 weeks. A polyvalent vaccine is used. Already at the age of 7 days, piglets develop active immunity. Later, 3 weeks before weaning, they are vaccinated with the same drug as the sow.
For greater effectiveness, veterinarians recommend the use of an autovaccine. Piglets are vaccinated with it as early as 5 days of age. The same serum is used to treat colibacillosis when used in an increased dose.
Other preventive measures
In order to protect the livestock from infection as much as possible, a number of preventive measures are carried out:
- Sows are transferred to separate queen cells 2 weeks before farrowing.
- Before this, the room is disinfected, the animal’s contaminated body is washed and treated with a formaldehyde solution.
- Clean the vacated room using soda ash and further treatment with a strong stream of water.
- A week before farrowing, the animal’s diet is halved.
- Immediately before farrowing, pigs are treated with a disinfectant solution (rear part).
If infection is suspected early, animals are isolated and transferred to a new, previously unused location. The quality of the feed is improved. In acute cases of colibacillosis, treatment should be started as early as possible.
