Pigs became more active and alert when put on Vira-Matrix

Healthy weaners on Vira-Matrix (this farm has PMWS)

Vira-Matrix (Viramatrix)

Background

William Park Tonks has been working on a syndrome called "bleeders". It is a condition whereby horses bleed during a race due to blood vessels in the nose and lungs rupturing. After rupturing the horse may take up to 4-6 months to recover. Most stables have 20-60% "bleeders" in their yard. The blood morphology has suggested a lower immune function and an anti-oxidant shortfall.

A review of the human use of certain products to overcome shortfalls in the immune and anti-oxidant status highlighted a number of nutritional products (whole material as well as extracted components) that were worthy of further investigation. The human daily requirement for these products was recalculated on a horse basis using a metabolic body weight conversion.

The product tested contained various anti-oxidants for the gut and lungs, working on the data that we have gleaned from some other piglet work; Pigs Breakfast (a product with which Park Tonks has won a very prestigious UK Government SMART award). In addition there are various nutritional products that will facilitate the immune system, increasing IgM and IgA levels. The latter method of stimulation is still not fully known.

The horses under investigation were fed a top dressed product for 21 days prior to an examination to race in four different yards. The results to date have been staggering. In one yard the level of bleeders has dropped from 47% to 9%. In another yard 50% of the bleeders were put on to the product and to date only one of these horses has bled whilst almost all of the other 50% placebo have bled.

Both urine and blood tests have not shown there to be anything present which may contravene the ‘Rules of Racing’.

Piglets

The same principles have been adopted in looking at the piglet to 30 kgs, converting the human requirement to a pig metabolic body weight. The difference between the pig and human is mainly in feed intake. In many instances piglets have been used as the model for human research. We have also looked at the beneficial research of nutritional products in children, where a lower intake but over a longer treatment period, compared with adults, has been investigated by Companies working with the FDA.

There is increasing suggestion that children have a more efficient retention of trace elements and anti-oxidants than adults. This would also appear to be the case with the young piglet from both work with Pigs Breakfast and research data.

Park Tonks research has indicated that you need to feed the piglet from weaning to 30 kg in order to "front end build-up" both the anti-oxidant and immune function. It is also important to review the diet formulation fed to the piglet since our research has shown that the effect on the health of pigs when affected with Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS) is a combination of diet formulation and Vira-Matrix inclusion level. The severity of disease on any farm is a reflection of the levels of organisms that challenge the immune system of those pigs between 4 and 14 weeks of age.

Vira-Matrix^TM (Viramatrix)

This natural nutritional product contains a combination of:

• Bioflavonoids
• Anthrocyanins
• Essential oils

as the three main group names.

The raw materials have been chosen to provide a range of activities in the gut and lungs. If you look at the feed intake at weaning and through to 30 kg., the inclusion levels (kg per tonne) have been calculated as follows:

Creep:	3 kg	(fed from weaning for 3-5 days)
Link:	2.5 kg	(fed from 8-9 kg to 15 kg live weight)
Grower:	2 kg	(fed from 15 kg to 30 kg live weight)

Farm Studies

In the UK many on farm studies have been carried out to date and the size of the farms has ranged from 350 to 4500 sow units. The level of mortality has been running on these units at 20% to 70%. Most farms have reported significant improvements in health.

The typical weaning age and weight is around 25 days and 5-7 kg respectively. Piglets are healthy at weaning, then over a period of the next 8 weeks they start to slow down, become debilitated and mortality reaches a peak around 5-8 weeks after weaning. Vira-Matrix has been included from weaning through to 25/30 kg. The farmers have reported a better condition and growth on the problem farms. They have also seen a significant reduction in mortality; many have seen the level drop to below 10% from very high numbers.

Park Tonks are making no medicinal claims for Vira-Matrix since this would require the registration of the product. Vira-Matrix consists of natural ingredients containing high levels of anti-oxidant mixture.

In units affected with severe pneumonia the product has not given consistent results. This is not a surprise since pneumonia has a significant effect on both the immune system and overall metabolism. Thus it is recommended to be careful where this new product is evaluated on farm

Here in the UK our success with Vira-Matrix is a topic of debate within the whole pig farming community and the veterinary profession.

Legal Warning

These statements have not been evaluated by the Veterinary Medicine Directorate, the Food and Drug Administration or other regulartory body. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and no medicinal claims are made.

Information provided by Park Tonks Limited, Great Abington, Cambridge, England.
Vira-Matrix is a Registered Trademark of Park Tonks Ltd.

Further information

If you would like more information on Vira-Matrix please feel free to email us

In the UK, Vira-Matrix is distributed by BOCM Pauls. In Ireland Vira-Matrix is available from Devenish Nutrition and outside of the UK, Vira-Matrix can be supplied direct from the manufacturer.

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