PARTNER FEATURE ▶▶▶
Oedema disease – correct sampling is crucial
Oedema disease in weaned piglets is one of the most costly diseases in the rearing period. A study in Germany now shows that shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli are more common than expected.
BY PIA BERGER AND PROF MARCUS DOHERR, FREIE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN & STEFFEN HER- MANNS AND PROF ROLF BAUERFEIND, JUSTUS-LIEBIG-UNIVERSITY, GIESSEN, GERMANY
A
fter separation from the sow, piglets are particu- larly susceptible to infections for many reasons: their maternal antibodies decrease and they often have to cope with feed conversion and other
stressors (new environment, transport, ranking fights, etc.). In particular, infections with Escherichia coli (E. coli) occur more frequently. E. coli bacteria are found in the physiological in- testinal flora of pigs, but some strains can produce toxins and thereby cause disease, either diarrhoea (enterotoxic E. coli) or oedema disease (shigatoxin-producing E. coli), depending on the pathogenicity factors of the strains – especially the attachment factors and toxins formed.
Oedema disease The cause of oedema disease is “oedema disease E. coli” (EDEC), which contains the shigatoxin “stx2e” and fimbriae of
the type F18 for attachment to the epithelium of the pig’s small intestine. After attachment, EDEC produces the toxin stx2e, which is absorbed via the intestinal wall and thus en- ters the piglet’s circulation. The toxin causes damage to small blood vessels in various or- gans. Oedemas in the brain lead to central nervous system failure symptoms (getting stuck and making running move- ments in a lateral position, sudden death), and oedemas on the head (eyelids, bridge of nose) are often visible. There is no adequate treatment for affected animals, because the toxin has already been absorbed when the clinical symptoms occur and it is therefore too late for antibiotic therapy. Due to the lack of treatment options, it is particularly important to pre- vent the occurrence of oedema disease through prevention strategies.
Diagnostic approach A suspected diagnosis is possible based on clinical symptoms but must be distinguished from other conditions such as
Collecting saliva samples is not so easy in young pigs in the nursery, because they tend to get tangled up in chewing ropes with their ear tags and get stuck.
10 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 8, 2020
The experience in this study was that young pigs in the nurs- ery are attracted to the chewing ropes, but they start to play around with rather than chewing extensively on them.
PHOTO’S: CEVA
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