ThePigSite Newsletter - 5 December 2011

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Monday 5th December 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial – African Swine Fever Threat Level Raised

African Swine Fever (ASF) has been breaking out in several regions of the Russian Federation in recent months. Indeed, the head of the Russian Veterinary Service, Rosselkhoznador, Sergey Dankvert, said at the World Pork Conference earlier this year that the disease, which is in the Northern Caucasus region, is in danger of spreading .

During the last week, the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia has announced that there are suspected cases of ASF in the village of Lorut in the northern province of Lori.

An update on ASF – its occurrence, transmission, cause and control – has been published on ThePigSite this week.

Researchers in the US have reported that antibiotics in feed encourage gene exchange between gut bacteria, which may lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

A study published this week in the online journal, mBio® shows that adding antibiotics to pig feed causes microorganisms in the guts of these animals to start sharing genes that could spread antibiotic resistance.

The study by Heather Allen and her colleagues at the USDA National Animal Disease Center (NaDC) in Ames, Iowa, adds to our knowledge about what happens to the microorganisms that populate animal digestive tracts when they are exposed to low but long-term levels of antibiotics. The researchers studied how two in-feed antibiotic formulations affect prophages, segments of DNA found in bacteria that can encode antibiotic resistance genes and other genes that bacteria may use.

Prophages can cut themselves out of the larger chromosome of bacterial DNA in a process called induction, then replicate and package themselves as viruses. These viruses explode the cell from the inside then move on to infect other organisms and deliver their genes.

Dr Allen, who is lead author on the study, says when pigs were fed antibiotics, the numbers of antibiotic resistance genes carried by the phages remained steady but the microorganisms still reacted to the presence of antibiotics. Prophages underwent a significant increase in induction when exposed to antibiotics, indicating that medicating the animals led to increased movement of prophage genes among gut bacteria.

And finally, ThePigSite last week covered a new report on the level of preparedness in the various Member States for the partial sow stall ban in the EU from January 2013.

That report indicates that even Denmark may have problems complying with the EU ban. We are most grateful to John Howard, Market Director (UK) at the Danish Agriculture & Food Council for contacting us and providing an update on the situation in Denmark.

He says that the Danish industry will be ready, adding that the latest research – undertaken 15 months ago in June 2010 – indicated that 70 per cent of Danish producers then complied with the new EU rules, and the remainder either had plans in place to adapt their production to the new rules or would cease producing prior to their implementation.

Jackie Linden

ThePigSite Book Focus

Welfare of Pigs - From birth to slaughter
The current scientific literature contains reviews and articles on specific aspects of pig production and farm animal welfare. This book is intended to be a reference text that covers all aspects of pig production, on the basis of scientific results. This work contains current, easy-to-understand scientific reviews on animal welfare with over 700 specific references to animal welfare. All aspects of animal welfare with respect to pigs are discussed, from genetic selection and breeding to transportation and slaughter. This work was written by scientific experts renowned for their knowledge and work in the area of pig welfare.
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On Farm Monitoring of Pig Welfare
The objective of this book is to provide a scientificly-based outline for how to evaluate the welfare of pigs at a farm level. Attention is focused on the assessment of the validation of the inferred indicators and parameters, and the validity, reliability and the feasibility of the measuring methods.
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This Week's Feature Articles

We have 14 new features this week:

African Swine Fever: an Increasing Threat for Europe
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease, which has no vaccine and often leads to 100 per cent mortality. With Russia unable to control its rapidly spreading ASF outbreak, the threat of this devastating disease in Europe is growing.

Organic Diet for Organic Pigs and Poultry
A study conducted by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University shows that in future the feed for organic pigs and poultry will be 100 per cent organic and it will be quite a challenge to meet the demand for, particularly, protein-rich feeds.

Identification of H-2d Restricted T Cell Epitope of an FMDV Protein
Experiments in Lanzhou, China, predicted 30 potential CTL epitopes on structural protein VP1 through bioinformatics, thus reducing the scope for the identification of potential epitopes and improving the accuracy of the experiments. The study provides evidence of the need for further clarification of the FMDV T cell epitopes for the virus causing foot and mouth disease (FMDV).

Potential Effects of Carry-Over of Antimicrobials in Pig Feed
A three per cent carry-over of most antibiotics is unlikely to result in major resistance development in comparison with regular therapeutic use, according to David Burch of Octagon Services Ltd, UK. However, there is a possibility that some antibiotics, such as amoxycillin, even at low concentrations might have an impact, he suggests.

Feed Intake During Early Pregnancy: Effects on Sow Body Weight and Litter Size
Increasing feed intake by 30 per cent during the first month of gestation improved sow bodyweight recovery and increased litter size but did not significantly affect farrowing rate in the subsequent parity, according to researchers based at Wageningen University. However, feeding 30 per cent more digestible amino acids during the same period did not improve sow recovery or reproductive performance in the subsequent parity.

Pig-Associated Lawsonia intracellularis in Various on-Farm Flies
Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that on many farms, one dominant farm isolate of L. intracellularis occurs within the pigs and the farm environment, including the insects most closely associated with the pigs. Of the insects found on pig farms, Musca domestica and Eristalis species flies have the most likely on-farm potential to carry and transmit L. intracellularis, they concluded.

Research Results on Alternative Uses for Pig Manure
Papers presented at the Pig Development Department's Research Dissemination Day entitled Research Results on Alternative Uses for Pig Manure held at Teagasc's Pig Development Department at Moorepark in County Cork in the Irish Republic in June this year.

Trends and Developments in Hog Manure Management: 1998-2009
Pig farm operators have changed their practices between 1998 and 2009 in ways that indicate they were seeking to manage manure in a more environmentally sound manner, according to the report by Nigel Key, William D. McBride, Marc Ribaudo and Stacy Sneeringer of the USDA Economic Research Service. These changes appeared to be related to structural changes in the industry over the period and environmental policies were also likely to be behind some of the observed patterns of change.

US Food Safety Policy Enters a New Era
Research conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) over the past two decades provides a number of lessons that can help identify efficient and effective means of implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010.

Emerging Threats Quarterly Report - Pig Diseases - July to September 2011

Kansas Swine Day 2011

Mycotoxins, Endotoxins and Their Control

NAB Rural Commodities Wrap - November 2011

USDA Livestock and Products Annual and Semi-Annual Reports 2011

Company News

Biomin Asia Nutrition Forum 2011
ASIA - The Biomin Asia Nutrition Forum, held once every two years in Asia is a multi-destination forum programme tailored for the Asian audience.

Novus CEO Addresses World Ag Forum
GLOBAL - Novus International is to present a landmark keynote presentation at the seventh biennial World Agricultural Forum's Congress in Brussels this week.

Dangers of Fluctuating Winter Temperatures
UK - As we move into winter, fluctuating temperatures can be a major stressor and precursor to pneumonia in pigs, warns says Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd.

Global Pig Industry News