Difference between revisions of "Thin Sow Syndrome"

Latest revision as of 14:11, 10 May 2011

Introduction

Thin sow syndrome is a multifactorial condition in which sows loose a large proportion of their body weight during lactation and early pregnancy and fail to restore their condition post weaning. The weight loss is progressive leading to emaciation, poor fertility and death. The ethical and economical consequences are serious.

Signalment

The condition is usually sporadic but may also affect an unacceptably high proportion of the herd. The cause is multifactorial, involving poor husbandry, inadequate feeding, parasites, and intestinal malabsorption which may be due to damage by parasites or another clinical disease.

The condition is associated with the gastrointestinal parasites Oesophagostomum and Hyostrongylus rubidis.

Outdoor reared pigs may be at increased risk due to the lower environmental temperatures which mean that they require 200kg more feed per sow per year than indoor reared pigs.

Clinical Signs

Progressive weight loss
Body condition score of 1 (out of 5)
Pale mucosa
Hypothermia
Poor appetite
Low conception rates
Infertility

A full clinical exam should be carried out to rule out other conditions. A faecal egg count should also be performed to determine whether parasites are part of the cause.

Treatment

Once the weight loss is severe and the lack of body fat has forced the sow into a catatonic state, treatment is not usually successful. Sows should be fed high quality, high energy feed ad lib and kept warm in suitable housing. Culling affected animals and replacing stock is preferable in many cases.

Focus should be on preventing the condition by adopting good management practices with individual feeding regimes, regular weight and condition monitoring and effective parasite control.

Literature Search

Use these links to find recent scientific publications via CAB Abstracts (log in required unless accessing from a subscribing organisation).

Thin Sow Syndrome publications

References

Jackson, G.G. and Cockcroft, P.D. (2007) Handbook of Pig Medicine Saunders Elsevier
Merck & Co (2008) The Merck Veterinary Manual (Eighth Edition) Merial
Taylor, D.J. (2006) Pig Diseases (Eighth edition) St Edmunsdbury Press ltd

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Description==
+==Introduction==
 '''Thin sow syndrome''' is a multifactorial condition in which sows loose a large proportion of their body weight during lactation and early pregnancy and fail to restore their condition post weaning. The weight loss is progressive leading to emaciation, poor fertility and death. The ethical and economical consequences are serious.
 ==Signalment==
-The condition is usually sporadic but may also affect an unacceptionally high proportion of the herd.
+The condition is usually sporadic but may also affect an unacceptably high proportion of the herd.
-The cause is multifactorial,
+The cause is multifactorial, involving poor husbandry, inadequate feeding, parasites, and intestinal malabsorption which may be due to damage by parasites or another clinical disease.
-==Diagnosis==
-===Clinical Signs===
+The condition is associated with the gastrointestinal parasites ''[[Oesophagostomum]]'' and ''[[Hyostrongylus rubidis]]''.
+Outdoor reared pigs may be at increased risk due to the lower environmental temperatures which mean that they require 200kg more feed per sow per year than indoor reared pigs.
+==Clinical Signs==
 *Progressive weight loss
 *Body condition score of 1 (out of 5)
 *Pale mucosa
 *Hypothermia
-*Poor asppetite
+*Poor appetite
 *Low conception rates
 *Infertility
@@ Line 17: / Line 21: @@
 A full clinical exam should be carried out to rule out other conditions. A faecal egg count should also be performed to determine whether parasites are part of the cause.
-===Pathology===
 ==Treatment==
-Once the weight loss is severe and the lack of body fat has forced the sow into a catatonic state treatment is not usually successful. Sows should be fed high qualily, high energy feed ad lib and kept warm in suitable housing. Culling affected animals and replacing stock is preferable inmany cases.
+Once the weight loss is severe and the lack of body fat has forced the sow into a catatonic state, treatment is not usually successful. Sows should be fed high quality, high energy feed ad lib and kept warm in suitable housing. Culling affected animals and replacing stock is preferable in many cases.
-Focus should be on preventing the condition by adopting good management practices with individual feeding regimes, regular weight and condtion monitoring and effective parasite comntrol.
+Focus should be on preventing the condition by adopting good management practices with individual feeding regimes, regular weight and condition monitoring and effective parasite control.
+==Literature Search==
+[[File:CABI logo.jpg|left|90px]]
+Use these links to find recent scientific publications via CAB Abstracts (log in required unless accessing from a subscribing organisation).
+<br><br><br>
+[http://www.cabdirect.org/search.html?rowId=1&options1=AND&q1=thin+sow+syndrome&occuring1=title&rowId=2&options2=AND&q2=&occuring2=freetext&rowId=3&options3=AND&q3=&occuring3=freetext&x=60&y=12&publishedstart=yyyy&publishedend=yyyy&calendarInput=yyyy-mm-dd&la=any&it=any&show=all Thin Sow Syndrome publications]
 ==References==
@@ Line 29: / Line 40: @@
-*It is associated with, but not caused by, ''[[Oesophagostomum]]''.
+{{review}}
-*It is primarily a nutritional problem leading to the following sequence of events:
+[[Category:Reproductive Diseases - Pig]][[Category:Alimentary Diseases - Pig]]
-**if quantity of feed offered is inadequate for batch-fed sows, hungry individuals are more vulnerable to infection and likely to eat bedding (and infective larvae)
+[[Category:Brian Aldridge reviewing]]
-**acquire large worm burdens
-**intestinal damage and large numbers of eggs excreted
-**larger numbers of L3 in bedding
-**downward spiral: more and more intestinal damage
-**excessive loss of weight during lactation
-**the thin sow syndrome.
-[[Category:Pig]]
-[[Category:To_Do_-_lizzyk]]