A retrospective analysis of a high health commercial pig production system showing improved production and reduced antibiotic use after implementation of a PCV2 vaccination

Brockhoff, Egan; Cunningham, Gail; Misutka, C.

doi:10.31274/safepork-180809-835

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…It should be noted however that this is a rough and subjective unit of measurement. However, the negative association found between the used parameter as a proxy for disease incidence and the level of biosecurity does suggest a lower level of disease in herds with better biosecurity indicating that indeed biosecurity could be seen as a tool for disease prevention as suggested before (Amass and Clark, 1999;Maes et al, 2004;Casal et al, 2007;European Commission, 2007;Maes et al, 2007;Gunn et al, 2008;Brockhoff et al, 2009;Brennan and Christley, 2012). The association was seen in relation with the internal biosecurity, which could be explained by the fact that part of the pre-listed symptoms, efor example lameness and skin problems, might be associated with management and pig-to-pig transmissible diseases by the farmer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds

Postma

Backhans

Collineau

et al. 2016

Animal

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Disease prevention through biosecurity measures is believed to be an important factor for improvement of the overall health status in animal production. This study aimed at assessing the levels of implementation of biosecurity measures in pig production in four European Union (EU) countries and to describe possible associations between the biosecurity level and farm and production characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 232 farrow-to-finish pig herds in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden between December 2012 and December 2013. The biosecurity status in each of these herds was described and quantified by using the risk-based scoring tool Biocheck.UGentTM (www.biocheck.ugent.be). Production and management characteristics, obtained from the herd management system and by interviewing the farmer, were analysed for their association with the biosecurity level. A causal path was designed to study statistical associations. The results showed that there was substantial room for improvement in the biosecurity status on many pig farms. Significant differences (P<0.01) both in internal and external biosecurity levels were observed between countries. The external biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent disease introduction into the herd, was highest in Germany and lowest in France. The internal biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent within herd disease transmission, was highest in Sweden and lowest, with a large variation, in Belgium. External biosecurity scores were in general higher compared to internal biosecurity scores. The number of pathogens vaccinated against was significantly associated with internal biosecurity status, suggesting an overall more preventive approach towards the risk of disease transmission. A higher external biosecurity was associated with more weaned piglets per sow per year. Furthermore also the weaning age and the mortality till weaning were highly associated with the number of weaned piglets per sow per year. The negative association observed between the biosecurity level and the estimated frequency of treatment against certain clinical signs of disease as a proxy for disease incidence is consistent with the hypothesis that a higher biosecurity level results in healthier animals. These findings promote an improved biosecurity status at pig farms and are of relevance in the discussion on alternative ways to keep animals healthy with a reduced necessity of antimicrobials; Prevention is better than cure

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds

Postma

Backhans

Collineau

et al. 2016

Animal

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“…Therefore, vaccination may improve the overall health status of the pig while lowering the risk of (secondary) infection. Several studies confirm the reduction of antimicrobial usage after vaccination (Adam, 2009;Brockhoff et al, 2009;Aerts and Wertenbroek, 2011;Bak, 2011;Bak et al, 2011;Coube et al, 2012;Koenders and Wertenbroek, 2012;Tebar et al, 2012). Laanen et al (2013) found a positive association between biosecurity, production parameters and antimicrobial usage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production: A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness, feasibility and return on investment

Postma

Stärk²,

Sjölund

et al. 2015

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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“…To be able to achieve this reduction, it is important to assist and guide farmers in this process, as they are generally aware of the problems and risks, but not sufficiently knowledgeable on the implications on herd level (Visschers et al., ). They are generally also willing to reduce their antimicrobial use but are unfamiliar with alternative solutions such as biosecurity improvements (Laanen et al., ; Postma et al., ; Postma et al., ) and improved immunization through vaccination against infections such as ileitis (Adam, ; Coube et al., ), porcine proliferative enteropathy (Bak and Rathkjen, ), porcine circovirus (Brockhoff et al., ; Aerts and Wertenbroek, ; Coube et al., ; Koenders and Wertenbroek, ) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (Del Pozo Sacristán et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Antimicrobial Usage in Pig Production without Jeopardizing Production Parameters

Postma

Vanderhaeghen

Sarrazin

et al. 2016

Zoonoses and Public Health

125

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Antimicrobial usage (AMU) has been described to be high in pig production. Although farmers are aware of the high usage, little is known about intervention to improve the situation. This study evaluated the extent to which AMU could be reduced in pig production by the optimization of herd management, biosecurity status, vaccination strategy, anthelmintic therapy and advice on prudent AMU. Furthermore, the effects of these interventions on the herd production results were explored. This intervention study was conducted on 61 Flemish pig herds and included three visits per herd. During the initial visit, information was gathered on herd management, biosecurity status (quantified by means of the Biocheck.UGent risk-based scoring system), vaccination strategy, anthelmintic therapy and AMU. This info was then translated into a herd-specific action plan which was discussed with the farmer and herd veterinarian/other advisors during the second visit. In the final herd visit (±8 months later), comparable data were obtained to evaluate the progress. Overall, a significant improvement of 2.4 points external and 7 points internal biosecurity on the herds was obtained, combined with additional vaccination, anthelmintic therapy and prudent AMU. This was accompanied by a significant reduction in the AMU with a decrease of 52% for the pigs from birth till slaughter and 32% for breeding animals, based on treatment incidences (TIs) and included an important reduction in the use of critically important antimicrobials. More importantly, the increased biosecurity levels and decreased AMU were combined with significantly improved technical results such as the number of weaned piglets per sow per year (+1.1), daily weight gain (+5.9 g/day) and mortality in the finisher period (-0.6%). Guided interventions as a team effort of farmer and herd veterinarian/other advisors have shown to be a promising method in the reduction of AMU in pig production.

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A retrospective analysis of a high health commercial pig production system showing improved production and reduced antibiotic use after implementation of a PCV2 vaccination

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds

The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds

Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production: A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness, feasibility and return on investment

Reducing Antimicrobial Usage in Pig Production without Jeopardizing Production Parameters

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