Dietary Probiotic Compound Improves Reproductive Performance of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus-Infected Sows Reared in a Japanese Commercial Swine Farm under Vaccine Control Condition

Abstract

Lactogenic immunity transferred to piglets after inoculation of a live vaccine to pregnant sows was proved limited to control porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Hence, here we evaluated the efficacy of administration of a probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus, Clostridium butyricum, and Enterococcus faecalis together with a commercial live-attenuated PED vaccine (Nisseiken PED Live Vaccine, Nisseiken, Tokyo, Japan) to improve the health and reproductive performance of PED-infected sows. Twenty pregnant sows in a PED-positive farm were equally divided into probiotics-administered (VP) and control (VC) sow groups. A commercial live-attenuated vaccine was injected as per the manufacturer’s instruction. The probiotic compound (15 g/day) was orally administered to VP from 6 weeks pre-parturition to 7 days post-parturition (ppd7). VP had a significantly higher body weight at ppd7 than VC (191 vs 186 kg; P < 0.05). At day 3 post-parturition (ppd3) (4.18 vs 3.63 kg/day) and ppd7 (5.14 vs 4.34 kg/day), milk produced by VP was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that by VC. Total immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG concentrations at day 0 were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in whey of VP (1.9 and 6.6 g/dL, respectively) than in that of VC (1.7 and 6.1 g/dL, respectively). However, total IgG concentration in whey of VP and VC at ppd3 and ppd7 did not differ. Antibody titer was significantly higher at day 0 in serum of VP than it was that of VC (60 vs 37 in geometric mean; P < 0.05). Likewise, the antibody titer in whey of VP and VC was found to be similar at day 0 (416 vs 208 in geometric mean; P = 0.13). Consequently, VP had fewer days between weaning and return to estrus than did VC (7 vs 10 days; P < 0.05). Moreover, piglets of VP had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher litter weight at birth (9,252 g/litter) and a lower mortality (12%) during suckling than those of VC (8,686 g/litter and 28%, respectively). In summary, probiotic-supplemented, PED-vaccinated sows were healthier, transferred PED-specific antibodies via colostrum to piglets, had greater litter weight at birth, and reduced mortality during suckling.

Probiotic supplementation improves reproductive performance of unvaccinated farmed sows infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

“…In our previous study, we showed that the probiotic compound improved the reproductive performance of sows vaccinated against PED by stimulating PED‐specific antibodies (Inatomi et al., ). In the present study, we supplemented this probiotic compound to unvaccinated sows.…”

“…Previously, we reported that a probiotic compound with peptide‐zinc complexes named BIO‐THREE PZ, containing live bacteria Bacillus mesentericus , Clostridium butyricum and Enterococcus faecalis , improved the reproductive performance of sows and prevented post‐weaning diarrhea in piglets (Hayakawa, Masuda, Kurosawa, & Tsukahara, ). More recently, we also showed that the above probiotic compound improved the reproductive performance of sows vaccinated against PED and reduced mortality in suckling piglets (Inatomi, Amatatsu, Romero‐Pérez, Inoue, & Tsukahara, ).…”

“…BIO‐THREE PZ (TOA Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), a probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus TO‐A (1 × 10 6 colony‐forming units [cfu]/g), Clostridium butyricum TO‐A (1 × 10 6 cfu/g) and Enterococcus faecalis T‐110 (1 × 10 8 cfu/g) in a peptide‐zinc compound (10 mg/g) was used in this study. This compound was the same as the one used in a previous study (Inatomi et al., ).…”

“…The present work was conducted at the same site as the previous study (Inatomi et al., ). The site is a commercial swine farm in Kyushu region, Japan, that operates a farrow‐to‐finish business and has a stock of approximately 900 sows (Landrace × Large White).…”

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“…Thus, substitutes for antibiotics, which can prevent infections at the weaning stage, are 53 urgently required. Evidence suggesting that probiotics, as alternatives to antibiotics, have positive 54 effects in controlling infection and promoting growth mainly due to the competitive exclusion of 55 pathogenic bacteria, has emerged (Inatomi et al 2017; Kim et al 2018).…”