Pleurisy
Thursday, April 15, 2010Pleurisy could be costing the producer £2.30 per pig if the conditions affects around 10 per cent of pigs in the herd. Action for Productivity no. 28 from BPEX describes the costs and control methods.
After enzootic pneumonia-type lesions, pleurisy is the second most common reason for condemnations of pigs at abattoirs. More than 12 per cent of pigs and 68 per cent of English herds are affected. Pleurisy causes pigs discomfort when breathing and lowers their daily liveweight gain resulting in lighter carcases and/or an increase in the number of days to slaughter. At the abattoir, the carcass has to be trimmed, reducing the value to both the farmer and the abattoir. Costs of disposal are increased and line speeds are reduced, increasing processing costs. Losses from pleurisy can be as high as £2.30 per pig, for a typical batch where one pig in 10 has pleurisy.
Targets
- To control pleurisy on-farm and improve the growth and efficiency of the growing herd and reduce variation
- To reduce the losses in carcase value and the increased processing costs at the abattoir
- To use the data from BPHS reports to monitor the prevalence of pleurisy, and
- To improve pig health and welfare
BPHS provides a record over time of the levels of lung damage in pigs at slaughter that can be used as a basis for health planning and managing pleurisy.
Many infectious organisms can cause pleurisy, including PRRSV, APP and PCV2. During infection, the pleura (the lining that surrounds the lungs and the chest cavity) become inflamed and rub together, potentially causing pain when breathing.
Cost of Pleurisy to the Producer
Pleurisy is associated with a lower average lifetime daily weight gain (costed at 50p/50g lost daily weight gain), a lower carcass weight (costed at 145p/kg) and an older-than-average slaughter age (costed as feed at 50p per pig per day).
In a batch of pigs, every one per cent increase in the number of pigs with pleurisy reduces average trimmed carcass weight by 70g and increases the average days to slaughter by 0.26 days.
This means for a batch with 10 per cent prevalence of pleurisy, the cost in terms of reduced carcass weight and increased age at slaughter, is as follows:
- 0.7 kg reduction in carcase weight = £1/pig
- 2.6 extra days to slaughter = £1.30/pig
Total cost = £2.30/pig in a batch where 1 in 10 pigs has pleurisy
The final output form the research this sheet is based on allows you to calculate your own costs of pleurisy more precisely, based on your own known costs.
Cost of Pleurisy to the Abattoir
Pleurisy results in extra processing costs at the abattoir because of the extra trimming required to separate the lungs from the carcass wall and increased costs of disposal.
For a typical batch of 1,200 pigs where 120 pigs have pleurisy (1 in 10), the cost in terms of extra trimming and increased costs of disposal is as follows:
- 8.5 per cent reduction in line speed = an extra 25 minutes to kill a typical entire batch of 1200 pigs, one additional slaughterman/trimmer (£35/batch) and extra overtime for entire slaughter (£199) and MHS teams (£106) = £340/batch
- Increased costs of disposal of Category 2 Animal Byproduct as a result of trimming needed = £14/batch
Total cost = 30p/pig in a batch where 1 in 10 pigs have pleurisy
Management Guidelines
- Buy stock from an appropriate source, depending on your herd health status
- Isolate incoming pigs for six to eight weeks and check source health status with you supplier before integrating pigs into your herd
- Optimise stocking levels and ventilation in your buildings
- If not already managing buildings all-in all-out, try to see if you can change your system to make this possible
- Make sure you have a thorough cleaning and disinfection programme in place (see Action for Productivity 10: Cleaning and Disinfection)
- Review your control programs for PCV2 and PRRS; even sub-clinical infections with these viruses appear to be important
- In heavily infected herds where the causal organism(s) has been identified, it may be necessary to consider a partial or complete depopulation-repopulation strategy. Discuss this with your veterinary surgeon to check whether it is likely to be effective, given the health status on your farm.
| Risk factors for pleurisy and factors associated with reduced levels of pleurisy in pigs at herd level | |
| Factors associated with having more pleurisy in pigs | Factors associated with having less pleurisy in pigs |
|---|---|
| Having a single site farrow-finish system | Cleaning finisher pens before refilling |
| Failing to implement 'all-in, all-out' production and housing pigs of more than one month age difference in the same airspace | Disinfecting finisher pens before refilling |
| Repeatedly mixing pigs | More down-time for grower pens before refilling |
| Repeatedly moving pigs (even without mixing) | More down-time for finisher pens before refilling |
No one approach will apply to all farms. Management of the environment and stress will depend on the design of the piggery and the facilities available and may affect the success of any programme based on vaccination or the strategic use of antibiotics.
Work with your vet to develop a management plan that is appropriate for your farm. Give changes time to work and keep checking if there is an effect on your pleurisy scores in BPHS and on partial and total condemnations.
BPHS Reports
- The BPHS report provides a pleurisy score for every batch of pigs assessed. The severity of pleurisy is determined by the proportion of the lung that is affected.
- Any small area of pleurisy, regardless of whether it is on the lung or attached to the chest wall, is classed as localised (score 1)
- Larger areas of pleurisy, over about one-fifth of the total lung area, is classed as extensive (score 2)
- Add the scores for localised and extensive to find the total per centage of pigs that had pleurisy in the batch assessed
- A guide to interpreting BPHS producer report sheets can be downloaded by clicking here.
BPHS Interpretation Chart
The bar chart on the report also shows the number of individual pigs with pleurisy that:
- Occur together with pericarditis (inflammation of the lining that covers the heart)
- Occur with Enzootic Pneumonia (EP)-like lesions or
- Occur in isolation
Your veterinary surgeon will be able to help you use these results to determine the likely cause of pleurisy within the herd.
What were your recent BPHS pleurisy scores? Can you see a trend? Discuss these with your veterinary surgeon and ensure that an appropriate strategy is in place to maintain or control the status of your herd(s).
If you are not a BPHS member or need more information about the scheme, call 01463 233184 for more information.
Further Reading
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- | Find out more information on the diseases mentioned in this article by clicking here. |
April 2010
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