Salmonellosis of pigs: symptoms and treatment of paratyphoid, prevention measures

When raising pigs, an important task is to organize preventive measures for the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases. One of the most dangerous infections is salmonellosis, which affects pigs, and most often piglets. To prevent infection of animals, it is important to know the main causes of the disease, its symptoms. Prevention measures are of great importance.

What is paratyphoid?

When the body of an animal is affected by paratyphoid, the intestines and lungs suffer first of all. The disease rate is high in piglets because their immune system is not well developed to resist the disease.The aerobic bacterium paratyphoid Salmonella has the appearance of an oval stick with lateral flagella, thanks to which it moves. The duration of the incubation period in piglets after weaning age is one and a half to three weeks, in suckling babies this period is shorter.

Bacteria are highly resistant to high/low temperatures, many disinfectants. This feature creates significant difficulties in the treatment of animals and necessitates special preventive measures. When detecting and treating a disease, it must be taken into account that bacteria remain alive for about six months even in conditions of negative temperatures and ultraviolet lighting.

Causes of occurrence

On prosperous farms where quality animal care is provided, sources of infection can be:

• poor-quality feed (meat and bone meal contaminated with pathogenic bacteria);
• pigeons, cats, sparrows, rodents acting as mechanical carriers of the disease;
• importation of salmonella-carrying pigs into the farm (20% of bacteria carriers are enough to infect the herd).

The main spreaders of the infection are infected pigs, recovered individuals (the duration of the bacteriocarrier persists for about a year), their excrement. Sources of paratyphoid for piglets are lactating sows carriers of salmonella. Moreover, the disease affects both the litters of such sows and other piglets. Sometimes intrauterine infection of fetuses occurs.

An outbreak of the disease can occur if he althy animals are placed in pens where sick individuals were previously located, but the fences were poorly washed and disinfected. Unbalanced nutrition, lack of vitamins and trace elements are among the predisposing factors for the onset of the disease in piglets.

Symptoms and forms

Clinical signs of Salmonella damage to the body are determined by the variant of the course of the disease. There are three forms of paratyphoid. In an acute course, piglets have a body temperature of 41-42 ° C. Newborns do not have a sucking reflex, older piglets refuse food. The rules of behavior are also violated: the animals try to burrow into the litter, because of the colicky pains, the piglets lie on their chest, tucking their hind legs and stretching their front legs. Heavy breathing, diarrhea, vomiting are shown. Approximately half of the piglets die on days 3-7 of illness.

The subacute form of paratyphoid is characterized by the same clinic as the acute form, only the symptoms of the disease appear to a lesser extent. Sick animals breathe rapidly, cough, may refuse food, diarrhea alternates with constipation. There is a possibility of pneumonia. Of the infected piglets, 40% die. The disease in the chronic form lasts longer, the symptoms of infection are not pronounced.The disease lasts 8-9 days, ends with the recovery of most of the animals.

Diagnosis of disease

Paratyphoid affects mainly young animals. In animals, pneumonia is observed, necrotic and ulcerative lesions of the intestinal mucosa occur. Small brown or black crusts appear on the skin, resembling adhering dirt. Rapid weight loss, coughing and frequent constipation are reasons for suspecting salmonella infection in animals. To make a final diagnosis, take into account not only the clinical picture. Laboratory and pathoanatomical studies are being carried out.

It is important to conduct laboratory studies on feeds fed to both young and adult pigs.

Methods of treating paratyphoid in piglets

When signs of disease are detected, quarantine is organized on the farm. After temperature measurement and clinical examination, all sick piglets are isolated.Tank culture samples are taken from infected animals before antibiotic treatment is started. This is necessary to test the sensitivity of Salmonella found on the farm to antibiotics. As a treatment, it is recommended to use streptomycin, chloramphenicol. The medicine is given to piglets with milk, three times a day. The approximate duration of treatment is 4-6 days.

Advice! Animals continue to receive small doses of antibiotics for 2-3 days after recovery.

The use of immune serum in combination with salmonella bacteriophage and antibiotics is characterized by a good effect. If pneumonia develops against the background of paratyphoid, intramuscular injections of streptomycin, penicillin are given twice a day and chloramphenicol and biomycin are added.

Danger of disease

The appearance of the disease leads to the rapid loss of young animals (about half of the piglets). Sick piglets grow and develop worse in the future.

Prevention

A reliable way to prevent the onset of the disease is to vaccinate piglets from 10 days to one and a half months old. A special polyvalent vaccine is used (against salmonellosis, diplococcal infection and pasteurellosis). Vaccination of pregnant queens is carried out 35-40 days before farrowing. Adult pigs are vaccinated every six months. Weak piglets that are not gaining weight or lagging behind in development are placed in separate pens, providing them with the best conditions for care and maintenance.

An important preventive measure is the processing of premises. Thoroughly clean and disinfect floors, walls, feeders. Common disinfectants are caustic soda, formaldehyde, freshly slaked lime. The paddocks are processed weekly. The floors in the rooms should be dry, warm, convenient for disinfection.

Feeders, drinkers are cleaned of food residues and washed after each feeding, dried. Inventory, animal care items are processed with special means.To prevent the occurrence of paratyphoid and its spread by rodents, deratization of premises is carried out. Mandatory control over the operation of ventilation, sewerage.

Also, the premises create appropriate conditions for keeping piglets: the air temperature is maintained at 20-23 ° C, humidity should be 50-65%. The diet is varied, according to the age of the piglets. Self-prepared food is supplemented with vitamin supplements.

Paratyphoid is a serious infectious disease. The danger lies not only in the death of animals and the reduction of livestock. The possibility of salmonellosis affecting people working on farms cannot be ruled out. It is important to consider that the meat of sick pigs can be a source of infection.

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