significantly improved during this period. This is crucial as it shows the impact that better digestion, absorption and gut health have on energy utilisation and highlights how energy- expensive inflammatory processes can be on a growing pig.
Facing challenges with immunomodulation As mentioned above, overactivity of the immune system can affect piglet performance. Immunomodulation can be thought of as the “education” of the immune system, allowing it to respond better to true challenges while ensuring that it does not respond to non-self organisms or particles that do not pose any risk. Viral and bacterial challenges in pigs, such as PRRSv, can have substantial economic impacts in terms of lost performance through reduction in the number of weaned pigs and impair- ment of farrowing rates. There is also the financial cost of managing the infection to consider. The immune system forms an integral part of fighting viral infections, through both the innate and adaptive system and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Studies have sought to understand the impact that using products to improve gut health has on challenged animals. In a study conducted by a team around TM Che at the University of Illinois in 2012, results showed that feeding Actigen helped to support piglets’ immune function and thereby reduce the incidence of such economically important challenges. While
some viral challenges, such as the recent African Swine Fever epidemic, are too aggressive to be impacted by these meas- ures, it is still important to appreciate how improved immune function can hugely benefit both the animal and profits in pig production.
Overcoming the zinc oxide ban An important industry challenge that needs to be mentioned is the zinc oxide (ZnO) ban that will come into force in the EU in 2022. Currently, ZnO is used as a preventative measure against post-weaning diarrhoea, although the exact mecha- nism by which it does this is unknown. Weaning is a disrup- tive time for the animal. Microbiologically, huge changes are occurring inside the gut, as different species of bacteria now colonise or are outcompeted due to changing feeds and, therefore, changing metabolites. Disruption to the microbi- ome at that time enables pathogenic bacteria to replicate, such as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), which can cause post-weaning diarrhoea. E. coli infection is started by adhesion to epithelial cells. Recent work at Alltech’s Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Ire- land, has shown that mannan-rich fraction impairs the ability of ETEC to bind and aids in immunomodulation. While more work still needs to be done, this could potentially prove a suitable alternative to ZnO and highlights the importance of optimal gut health on performance and producer economies.
▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 2, 2020 27
There is an in- trinsic link be- tween gut
health and the immune system.
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