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: @@
-*This is a sporadic condition that is most often seen when the cyclical pig industry is in an economic trough.
+==Introduction==
-*It is associated with, but not caused by, ''[[Oesophagostomum]]''.
+'''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.
-*It is primarily a nutritional problem leading to the following sequence of events:
-**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)
+==Signalment==
-**acquire large worm burdens
+The condition is usually sporadic but may also affect an unacceptably high proportion of the herd.
-**intestinal damage and large numbers of eggs excreted
+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.
-**larger numbers of L3 in bedding
-**downward spiral: more and more intestinal damage
+The condition is associated with the gastrointestinal parasites ''[[Oesophagostomum]]'' and ''[[Hyostrongylus rubidis]]''.
-**excessive loss of weight during lactation
-**the thin sow syndrome.[[Category:Pig_Nematodes]]
+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==
+[[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==
+* 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''
+{{review}}
+[[Category:Reproductive Diseases - Pig]][[Category:Alimentary Diseases - Pig]]
+[[Category:Brian Aldridge reviewing]]