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. 2024 Dec 20;11(12):668.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci11120668.

Health-Economic Impact Attributable to Occurrence of Pleurisy and Pneumonia Lesions in Finishing Pigs

Clarisse S Malcher  1 , Fernando A M Petri  1 , Laiza P Arruda  1 , Gabriel A de Aguiar  1 , Gabriel Y Storino  1 , Karina Sonalio  1   2 , Leonardo T Toledo  3 , Flávio Hirose  4 , Luís Guilherme de Oliveira  1
Affiliations

Health-Economic Impact Attributable to Occurrence of Pleurisy and Pneumonia Lesions in Finishing Pigs

Clarisse S Malcher et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Respiratory diseases, such as pleurisy and pneumonia, cause significant health and economic losses in pig production. This study evaluated 867 finishing pigs from a farm with a history of respiratory issues, using macroscopic lesion scoring (SPES and CVPC), histopathological analysis, qPCR diagnostics, and economic modeling. Severe pleurisy (scores 3 and 4) was observed in 42.1% of carcasses and was strongly correlated with higher bacterial loads of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, and Pasteurella multocida. Severe lesions reduced the average daily gain (ADG) and carcass weight, leading to increased production costs and lower profitability. Economic analysis revealed that pigs with higher pleurisy scores incurred an additional cost per kg (USD 1.29 vs. USD 1.32 for milder cases), reduced total revenue by 1.36%, and decreased return on investment (ROI) from 5.33% to 3.90%. These findings emphasize the critical impact of respiratory diseases on profitability and the necessity of robust health management strategies, including vaccination and enhanced biosecurity, to minimize economic losses in swine farming.

Keywords: ADG; Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae; Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; PRDC; Pasteurella multocida; SPES; intensive pig farming.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author Flávio Hirose was employed by the company Ourofino Animal Health. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Variation in the bacterial prevalence in lung samples in each pleurisy score (SPES) group. Bar graphs show the estimated quantification of each pathogen in samples with an SPES score of (A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, and (D) 4. Differences were observed among Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhyo), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App), and Pasteurella multocida (Pm) in starting quantification (SQ) values. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used (p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of serum IgG levels against M. hyopneumoniae across pleurisy scores (SPES) between samples collected at the farm (F) and slaughterhouse (S). A cut-off of 35 was set following the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlations between lung health markers, pathogen presence, carcass weight, and immune response indicators in pigs, with statistical significance (p-values) and correlation coefficients (r) displayed for each graph. The solid line represents the linear regression, and the dashed lines indicate the confidence interval (CI 95%).
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