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. 2020 Sep 11:7:636.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00636. eCollection 2020.

Association Between Infectious Agents and Lesions in Post-Weaned Piglets and Fattening Heavy Pigs With Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC)

Jessica Ruggeri  1 , Cristian Salogni  1 , Stefano Giovannini  1 , Nicoletta Vitale  1 , Maria Beatrice Boniotti  1 , Attilio Corradi  2 , Paolo Pozzi  3 , Paolo Pasquali  4 , Giovanni Loris Alborali  1
Affiliations

Association Between Infectious Agents and Lesions in Post-Weaned Piglets and Fattening Heavy Pigs With Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC)

Jessica Ruggeri et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) is a multifactorial syndrome that causes health problems in growing pigs and economic losses to farmers. The etiological factors involved can be bacteria, viruses, or mycoplasmas. However, environmental stressors associated with farm management can influence the status of the animal's health. The role and impact of different microorganisms in the development of the disease can be complex, and these are not fully understood. The severity of lesions are a consequence of synergism and combination of different factors. The aim of this study was to systematically analyse samples, conferred to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (IZSLER, Brescia), with a standardized diagnostic protocol in case of suspected PRDC. During necropsy, the lungs and carcasses were analyzed to determine the severity and extension of lesions. Gross lung lesions were classified according to a pre-established scheme adapted from literature. Furthermore, pulmonary, pleural, and nasal lesions were scored to determine their severity and extension. Finally, the presence of infectious agents was investigated to identify the microorganisms involved in the cases studied. During the years 2014-2016, 1,658 samples of lungs and carcasses with PRDC from 863 farms were analyzed; among them 931 and 727 samples were from weaned piglets and fattening pigs, respectively. The most frequently observed lesions were characteristic of catarrhal bronchopneumonia, broncho-interstitial pneumonia, pleuropneumonia, and pleuritis. Some pathogens identified were correlated to specific lesions, whereas other pathogens to various lesions. These underline the need for the establishment of control and treatment programmes for individual farms.

Keywords: diagnostic protocol; lung lesion; multifactorial disease; pig; porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number (left axes/gray bars) and percentage (right axes/black lines) of different pathological lesions observed in BIP, Broncho-Interstitial Pneumonia; CBP, Catarrhal Bronchopneumonia; IP, Interstitial Pneumonia; PBP, Purulent Bronchopneumonia; PE, Pericarditis; PL, Pleuritis; and PP, Pleuropneumonia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of detected respiratory pathogens in lesions recorded in weaned piglets and fattening pigs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interpolation of lung, pleural, and nasal scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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