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The Causes of Disease
(31) It is likely that when considering the causes of disease you think first of infectious micro-organisms. You would be right to do so in that infectious disease plays a much bigger role in pig herds, particularly large intensive pig herds, than in animals kept individually such as dogs and cats. Nevertheless there are other non-infectious causes of disease which may also be damaging to the herd and to productivity and profitability. Causes of disease are considered here under nine main headingsInfectious agents
- Viruses
- Bacteria including; Chlamydia, Anaplasma and Mycoplasma
- Fungi
- Parasites
- Trauma
- Hereditary and congenital defects (developmental abnormalities)
- Nutritional deficiencies and excesses
- Toxic agents (poisons)
- Stress
When you think of disease it is often only in terms of a single cause. In some cases this may be right (e.g. a poisoning or a highly virulent virus infection such as foot-and-mouth disease). In most cases you would be wrong however, because disease in pig herds usually results from the interplay between a number of predisposing, primary and contributory causes.
You should bear this in mind when you are thinking how to suppress disease.
