Consider Impact of PCV2 and M-Hyo Control Strategies on Nursery Pig Performance

Vaccinating pigs for porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M-hyo) reduced the performance of nursery pigs, reported Potter and co-authors at the Kansas Swine Day 2009, and this effect should be taken into account when implementing vaccine strategies.

17 February 2010

4 minute read

M.L. Potter of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology at Kansas State University described the trial in which a total of 360 weanling barrows (PIC 1050, 21 days of age and 13.0 lb) were used in a 35-day study to evaluate the effects of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M-hyo) vaccines on nursery pig growth performance.

Two commercial PCV2 vaccines were evaluated in this study: (1) a two-dose product (PCV vaccine 1; Circumvent; Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Millsboro, Delaware), and (2) a single-dose product (PCV vaccine 2; Ingelvac CircoFlex; Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc, St Joseph, Missouri). For the M-hyo vaccine, RespiSure (Pfizer Animal Health, New York, New York), a single two-dose product, was used.

At weaning (day 0), pens of pigs were blocked by average pig weight and randomly allotted to one of six treatments in a 3×2 factorial arrangement composed of a combination of PCV2 vaccine (1, 2 or non-PCV2-vaccinated control), each with or without M-hyo vaccination. There were five pigs per pen and 12 pens per PCV2 × M.hyo vaccine treatment. All vaccines were administered according to label directions – PCV vaccine 2 at weaning and PCV vaccine 1 and the M-hyo vaccine at weaning and 21 days later. Common diets were fed by phase to all pigs.

There were no PCV2 × M-hyo vaccine interactions for any response criteria.

Overall, pigs vaccinated with PCV vaccine 1 had lower average daily gain (P<0.02) and average daily feed intake (P<0.01) compared with PCV vaccine 2 and control pigs, respectively. On day 35, PCV vaccine 1- vaccinated pigs weighed less (42.9 lb, P<0.01) than PCV vaccine 2-treated pigs (44.4 lb) or control pigs (44.4 lb).

Pigs vaccinated with the M-hyo vaccine had lower average daily gains than control pigs (P<0.05) from days 14 to 21 and days 21 to 25. On day 35, M.hyo-vaccinated pigs tended to weigh less (43.5 lb, P=0.06) and have lower average daily feed intake (P=0.06) than controls (mean weight = 44.3 lb).

These data indicate that PCV2 and M-hyo vaccination can independently reduce feed intake and performance of nursery pigs and that the PCV2 vaccine effect is product-dependent, reported Potter and co-authors.

They added that although PCV2 and M-hyo vaccines are known to improve finishing performance, their negative impact on nursery performance must be considered when implementing vaccine strategies.

Reference

Potter M.L., A.W. Duttlinger, J.R. Bergstrom, S.S. Dritz, J.M. DeRouchey, M.D. Tokach, R.D. Goodband and J.L. Nelssen. 2009. Effects of porcine circovirus type 2 and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccines on nursery pig performance. Proceedings of the Kansas Swine Day 2009, 21-27.