Enteric diseases are those that cause diarrhea and general surveys of pig diseases around the world suggest 30 per cent are enteric problems.

"Cost of Enteric Diseases" was discussed yesterday as part of the 2012 Banff Pork Seminar.

Dr Steven McOrist, a clinical professor with the University of Nottingham, says there is a strong indication that enteric diseases have a greater economic impact than other diseases because they directly impact feed conversion.

Dr Steven McOrist-University of Nottingham

Enteric diseases are the viruses and bacteria that cause diarrhea always have some kind of adaptation that helps them to survive in manure.

They typically will survive in manure, e. coli, salmonella, swine dysentery, lawsonia, all the different viruses and bacteria that cause diarrhea typically will survive in manure, a pile of poo, for something like let's say two or three weeks.

In terms of manure control within a barn obviously it's important in terms of sanitation.

Sanitation and disinfection are not particularly sexy topics but they are very important for farms to work hard at, to give good attention and care to, make sure that pens are cleaned properly.

Disinfection is a two-stage process.

We've got to have a cleaning washing stage and then follow that up with an actual disinfection phase where we use some product that will hopefully kill those viruses and bacteria that have been sitting there on the floor in feces and make sure that they are killed.

Dr McOrist acknowledges there's been progress in the development of vaccines for circovirus and ileitis but there's not much in the way of new medications.

He says there's a lot of research underway to find a vaccine for swine dysentery but we still don't have any good vaccines.