All Pig Stuff

Question 1

What is the purpose of quarantine?

Answer 1

(Prevent transmission of disease both from new to resident and resident to new, better observation of newbies, and to identify disease, behavioral, and nutritional diseases in newbies)

Question 2

(T/F) Even if new populations of animals are of the same known health status as your resident animals, it is still best to have a short quarantine period.

Answer 2

(T)

Question 3

Which of the following are appropriate topics to be discussed during a vet-to-vet call when bringing new animals into a herd? (Yeah this is a funny question, but there’s another question where I ask you to list the correct reasons so you best know them)
A - Your favorite colors +/- if you prefer the sparkly version of that color or not
B - Confirmation that source herd has not had any recent disease outbreaks
C - Your favorite coverall brands
D - To determine what disease have or have not been detected/tested for in the source herd
E - Your favorite season and why
F - To determine what vaccination programs are used (what are they given and when)
G - Your vet school crush and why
H - To determine what antimicrobials are being used in the source herd’s feed and/or water

Answer 3

(B, D, F, and H)

Question 4

What are the main topics that should be discussed in a vet-to-vet call?

Answer 4

(Recent disease outbreaks in the source herd, what diseases have or have not been detected/tested for, what vaccination program is used, and what antimicrobials are being used in the feed/water)

Question 5

How are diseases generally transmitted between pigs?

Answer 5

(Direct, makes quarantine real nice looking)

Question 6

Diseases are generally transmitted through direct contact between pigs, what are additional routes of transmission?

Answer 6

(Rodent/bird vectors, fomites, environmental transmission via aerosol, water, food, or dirt)

Question 7

What should be included in quarantine areas that can minimize fomite transmission, particularly pertaining to humans?

Answer 7

(Foot baths, hand washing stations, changing area, +/- use of gloves)

Question 8

What should be included in quarantine areas to minimize environmental transmission (aerosol, water, food, or dirt)?

Answer 8

(No common water or feed sources, easy to clean surfaces to minimize dirt, no contact b/w resident pigs and newbies)

Question 9

Unless the newbie pigs/animals are entirely naive animals with no exposure to any diseases, when should quarantined animals be fed, watered, checked on, etc?

Answer 9

(Dead last)

Question 10

What is a good general time period for quarantine?

Answer 10

(28-30 days, minimum is 2 weeks)

Question 11

What occurs during an acclimation period that is an additional 15-30 days on top of quarantine time?

Answer 11

(Acclimatization period allows for the newbies to be exposed to or immunized for diseases affecting the resident pigs/animals)

Question 12

What should be done during the acclimation period?

Answer 12

(Vaccinate for specific organisms that are proven to be an issue in your resident herd, exposure the newbies to a resident sentinel pig, and treat with antiparasitics (both internal and external) prior to entry into the resident herd)

Question 13

What are the most common causes of death in piglets?

Answer 13

(Trauma, hypoglycemia, and hypothermia)

Question 14

What are some of the skin related congenital disorders that piglets can be affected by?

Answer 14

(Epitheliogenesis imperfecta → monitor for QOL and manage as a wound, polydactyly → left alone or removed in show pigs, and cleft palates)

Question 15

What are some of the CNS related congenital disorders that piglets can be affected by?

Answer 15

(Tremors → will grow out of it, splayed legs → if congenital can try to hobble them, if traumatic not much to do, hydrocephalus → will die)

Question 16

What are some of the urogenital related congenital disorders that piglets can be affected by?

Answer 16

(Atresia ani → if partial will be fine, if not will die, intersex → fairly common, won’t affect growth but cannot be in the breeding herd)

Question 17

Piglet losses increase when the piglets are what weight or less at birth?

Answer 17

(<2.5-2.75 lbs)

Question 18

In which gestational status of mom pigs are stillbirths highest?

Answer 18

(Gilts and older sows)

Question 19

If you are presented with 1-5 day old piglets with diarrhea, what all should be on your differential list?

Answer 19

(E. coli, Clostridium spp., coronaviruses (TGE/PEDv), and rotavirus)

Question 20

If you are presented with >5 day old piglets with greyish diarrhea, what will be at the top of your differential list?

Answer 20

(Coccidia)

Question 21

What diarrheal piglet diseases are associated with the highest mortality?

Answer 21

(TGE and PEDv)

Question 22

Compare and contrast rotavirus and coronavirus in pathophysiology, clinical signs, and ages affected.

Answer 22

(Pathophysiology: rota takes the tips, corona takes the whole villi down to the crypts → villi take a week to regenerate, baby cannot absorb anything in the meantime and die; clinical signs: rota mostly diarrhea, corona diarrhea and vomiting so they get dehydrated fast and die; ages affected: rota is a baby pig dzs, TGE/PEDv can affect any age pig)

Question 23

What are some of the strategies that can be used to obtain herd immunity against coronaviruses?

Answer 23

(Autogenous or commercially available vaccine and feedback (feed intestines of infected animals to the whole herd, found to not work for PEDv though))

Question 24

When should creep feed start in piglets?

Answer 24

(Around 7 days of age)

Question 25

If you note arthritis or polyarthritis in piglets, what are the possible causative agents and what can be used to treat?

Answer 25

(Strep spp, Staph spp, and T. pyogenes; tx with cephalosporins or penicillins)

Question 26

In general, pigs are weaned at what age?

Answer 26

(3 weeks of age)

Question 27

(T/F) Though nursery pigs still get diarrhea when they have E. coli infections, they will present more septicemic when compared to a piglet.

Answer 27

(T)

Question 28

(T/F) Nursery is where exposure to Lawsonia intracellularis (causative agent of proliferative enteropathy) begins but clinical disease caused by Lawsonia is typically associated with growers/finisher pigs.

Answer 28

(T)

Question 29

What parasitic infection is responsible for weaned pig diarrhea particularly when pastures are used instead of confinement?

Answer 29

(Trichuris suis, whipworms)

Question 30

Why is coccidia associated with greyish-green diarrhea?

Answer 30

(Bc coccidia causes the intestinal lining to necrose which translates the greyish-green diarrhea)

Question 31

What is the causative agent of edema disease which can cause CNS signs in nursery pigs?

Answer 31

(E. coli)

Question 32

What are some of the CNS disorders that can cause ataxia, staggering, down and paddling, seizures, and convulsions in nursery pigs?

Answer 32

(Edema dz, Strep suis meningitis, salt poisoning, ascending paralysis from tail abscesses/infections, otitis interna +/- aural hematoma, pseudorabies, and Glasser’s dz (polyserositis mainly but can see some CNS signs))

Question 33

What are some of the causative agents of polyserositis/arthritis in nursery pigs?

Answer 33

(Strep suis type 2, Haemophilus parasuis, Mycoplasma hyorhinis or hyosynoviae, Erysipelothrix, and other secondary invaders from neonatal infections)

Question 34

What are some of the causative agents of respiratory disorders in nursery pigs?

Answer 34

(Atrophic rhinitis, PRRSv, circovirus, influenza, salmonellosis, and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae)

Question 35

What is the causative agent of greasy pig disease?

Answer 35

(Staphylococcus hyicus)

Question 36

What is the typical presentation of pigs with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and what will you find on necropsy?

Answer 36

(Presentation is sudden death in previously healthy pigs, necropsy you’ll find caudodorsal fibrinonecrotic lung lesions)

Question 37

What is the causative agent of verminous pneumonia and how will affected pigs present?

Answer 37

(Ascaris suum, will have a wet cough that looks like they are trying to clear something from their lungs and be lethargic and generally sick looking)

Question 38

What is the main concern when grower/finisher pigs have Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae or circovirus infections?

Answer 38

(Both limit growth)

Question 39

(T/F) Salmonella is more of a concern in growers/finishers compared to piglets and nursery pigs.

Answer 39

(T)

Question 40

Where will you see porcine circovirus dermatitis lesions at the beginning stages of the disease?

Answer 40

(At the hind end, then will migrate across the back of the pig)

Question 41

Where are pityriasis rosea lesions typically found on pigs and how do you treat them?

Answer 41

(Usually found on the ventrum, no tx bc pigs will grow out of it)

Question 42

Ringworm in grower/finisher pigs is typically treated with diluted bleach, what other skin disease is treated similarly in nursery pigs?

Answer 42

(Greasy pig disease)

Question 43

How can you distinguish between mite and fly bites?

Answer 43

(Mite bite lesions will be widely distributed over the pig whereas fly bite lesions will not be)

Question 44

Boars can have overuse issues so normally semen is collected how many times maximum in a week?

Answer 44

(2-3)