Rachitic Rosaries and Rib Nodules
Rib nodules found on pig carcasses at a processing plant were more likely to have been caused by previous injury than nutrient deficiency, according to Drs Steve S. Dritz and Jerome C. Nietfeld of Kansas State University in a paper presented at the Swine...

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Virulence May Be Linked to Iron Regulation
Researchers in Copenhagen have found by comparative analysis of gene expression of six different serotypes of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) that they could identify common core genes involved in iron regulation.

Pig and Cattle Diets to Control Salmonella
Researchers in Ireland's Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown and University College Dublin showed that manipulating diet can reduce the survival of Salmonella in pig faeces, but overall control of Salmonella in cattle and pigs requires additional measures....

UK Pig Disease Quarterly Surveillance Report: July to September 2010
In its latest quarterly report, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency highlights that beta-lactamase-resistant Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae has been isolated from a pig with pneumonia and that malignant catarrhal fever has been identified in...

Swine Profitability Conference 2010
Proceedings of the Swine Profitability Conference 2010, held in Manhattan, Kansas in February 2010.

Secondary Infection with Streptococcus suis Serotype 7 Increases Virulence of Highly Pathogenic PRRS
Highly Pathogenic PRRS virus (HP-PRRSV) infection increased susceptibility to S. suis serotype 7 (SS7) infection, and co-infection of HP-PRRSV with SS7 significantly increased the pathogenicity of SS7 to pigs, according to researchers in China....

Environment Enrichment for Pigs
A report was published jointly by BPEX and the UK's University of Bristol in December 2010 on the need for objects or substrates to help prevent tail biting and the best options for providing environmental enrichment. Jackie Linden, editor of ThePigSite,...

Effects of Environmental Enrichment and Loose Housing of Lactating Sows on Piglet Performance
Enrichment of the pre- and post-weaning environment improves performance and health of newly weaned pigs, according to researchers in the Netherlands.

UK Pig Disease Quarterly Surveillance Report: April to June 2010
In its latest quarterly report, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency reports that pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza virus outbreaks continue to be diagnosed, often associated with Streptococcus suis infection in rearing pigs, and that there have been...

Vaccination for the Smaller Pig Population - Part 1
In the first of this two-part series, pig veterinarian, Mark White, describes the basic principles of vaccination in a small pig herd as a Health Bulletin from NADIS.

Study Confirms Need for Molecular Surveillance of Swine Flu Viruses
Swine influenza viruses isolated in 1983, 2002 and 2009 in Sweden exemplify different lineages and confirm the need for continued molecular surveillance according to researchers working in Sweden and Hungary.

Rodent Control in Livestock and Poultry Facilities
This Factsheet by Brian Lang from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) explains rat and mouse behaviour as a means for better rodent control.

USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report - December 2010
The latest quarterly Hogs and Pigs report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Important Roles for L-Glutamine Revealed in Pig Nutrition
New research at Texas A&M University indicates that L-glutamine is an essential nutrient for pigs and that growth, development and production performance in pregnant and lactating gilts and sows and in weaned piglets can be improved by supplementing the...

US Pork Outlook - December 2010
Pig meat production in 2011 is expected to be about one per cent above this year, while hog prices are forecast to be one per cent lower, according to the latest Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook from the USDA's Economic Research Service...

BPEX Export Bulletin - December 2010
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin for December 2010 reports pig industry trends from around the world.

Optimising Returns on Animal By-Products
Protein meal should be allowed back into animal feeds to improve the financial returns on animal by-products in the UK, writes ThePigSite senior editor, Chris Harris.

Dutch Herd and Number of Farms Decline (December 2010)
By Chris Harris, Senior Editor, ThePigSite. Our snapshot of the ongoing global pig industry trends as reported in December 2010 Whole Hog Brief. To read the full detailed analysis including all the commentary and graphical data, subscribe to...

Reducing Variation for Increased Profit
Increasing farrowing capacity and separate rearing of smaller pigs can help to reduce variation in growing pigs, according to Jaydee Smith, Production Systems Program Lead in the December Pork News and Views newsletter from OMAFRA.

Splayleg in Piglets
Pig veterinarian, Mark White, describes the causes, prevention and treatment of the various types of splay-leg in a Health Bulletin from NADIS.

Setting up an Effective Farm Trial
Lee Whittington and LeAnn Johnston of Prairie Swine Research Centre help to explain why farm trial results are not always what we expect and how to improve your odds of success in future trials.

Spatial Analysis of the Spread of PCVAD in Ontario
A group of researchers from the University of Guelph has made an exploratory spatial analysis of the spread of porcine circovirus associated-disease (PCVAD) in pig herds in Ontario, Canada.

Risk Factors for the Spread of PCVAD in Ontario
From their results, Guelph researchers were unable to identify the mechanism of local spread through airborne transmission or indirectly through contaminated fomites or vectors of porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD).