An observational field study of porcine post-weaning diarrhea: clinical and microbiological findings, and fecal pH-measurements as a potential diagnostic tool

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Background: Recently, in-feed medicinal zinc has been phased out in pig production in the European Union. This makes updated knowledge about porcine post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) crucial. The objectives of the present study were to investigate (i) the clinical presentation of PWD in pigs housed in Danish herds that did not use medicinal zinc, specifically the prevalence of diarrhea and whether PWD was associated to clinical signs of dehydration or altered body temperature; (ii) which microorganism are associated to PWD; and iii) whether measurements of the fecal pH have a potential to be used diagnostically to differentiate between infectious etiologies in cases of PWD. Results: The prevalence of diarrhea varied considerably between the outbreaks in the nine studied herds (median = 0.58, range = 0.10; 0.94). In a cross-sectional design (n = 923), diarrhea was associated with reduced rectal temperature and alkaline feces. Diarrhea was also associated with observably reduced skin elasticity, possibly indicating dehydration. In both diarrheic case pigs (n = 87) and control pigs (n = 86), the presence of Brachyspira pilosicoli, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium spp., Cystoisopora suis, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Lawsonia intracellularis, porcine circovirus types 2 and 3, rotavirus A, B, C, and H, Samonella enterica spp. enterica, and Trichuris suis was described. PWD was associated with high levels of enterotoxigenic E. coli shedding (odds ratio versus no E. coli detection = 4.79 [CI 1.14; 12.62]). Diarrhea was associated with high levels of rotavirus A shedding (odds ratio versus no/low rotavirus A = 3.80 [CI 1.33; 7.97]). The association between microbiological findings in diarrheic pigs and fecal pH was negligible. Conclusions: Enterotoxigenic E. coli was confirmed to be a cause of PWD; however, cases of PWD where enterotoxigenic E. coli was not detected in high levels occurred commonly, and this adds to the increasing evidence suggesting that PWD is not necessarily a result of enteric colibacillosis. Rotaviral enteritis might be a differential diagnosis of PWD. pH-measurements cannot be used to differentiate between differential diagnoses for PWD.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer33
TidsskriftPorcine Health Management
Vol/bind9
ISSN2055-5660
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2023

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
The study was funded by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration through Veterinærforlig III (“Veterinary agreement III”). SEGES Danish Pig Research Center (funded by Danish pig producers) provided a technician for some of the herd visits and compensated the farmers for the euthanized pigs. None of the funding sources influenced the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data.

Funding Information:
The authors’ past and present research projects are frequently funded by Danish authorities regulating the pig production and the Danish pork industry through different sources. The authors believe that this has not inappropriately influenced the present work.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

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