Symptoms and treatment of ascariasis in pigs
Ascariasis of pigs, although not a deadly disease, causes a decrease in the growth rate of young animals and leads to economic losses in pig breeding.
Ascariasis of pigs
Etiology of ascariasis
Ascariasis refers to chronic diseases associated with the presence in the body of animals of round helminths from the Ascaris family.
The causative agents of the disease settle in the small intestine of pigs, sometimes localized in the bile ducts in the liver.
Ascariasis of pigs occurs in almost all farms both in our country and abroad. The only exceptions are some regions of the Far North. Contaminated animal meat must not be eaten.
The causative agents of the disease are white nematodes with a pink tint, the length of which can be up to 40 cm in females, and up to 25 cm in males. You can see how helminths look like in the photo. After itself, the parasite leaves an oval dark brown egg with a tuberous shell.
The risk group for ascariasis is the livestock aged 2 to 6 months.
Roundworms in pigs can develop without an intermediate host, spreading in the body of piglets daily up to 200 eggs, secreted by animals along with feces. In the environment, ascaris eggs retain their activity for up to a month at an average temperature of 25 ° C, and in sandy soils they can live up to 2.5 years.
Epizootology of ascariasis
Among the main causes of the disease are:
- swallowing larvae and eggs while eating food or together with drinking water,
- ingestion of the pathogen through eating the earth in cases of mineral starvation,
- spread by milk feeding of piglets through the udder of the sow.
The most common places for piglets to become infected are walking areas and a pigsty.
The scheme of entry and distribution of ascaris larvae and eggs includes:
- getting into the intestinal area of the animal,
- the introduction of larvae into the intestinal mucous membranes,
- movement with blood flow to the liver and right atrium,
- spreading towards the lung tissue of pigs, settling in the bronchi and bronchioles,
- localization in small capillaries.
Ascaris larvae trapped in the intestinal cavity grow for up to 2.5 months to a state of maturity and are able to live in the pig's body from 4 to 10 months.
Among the factors that contribute to the spread of the disease are the placement of pigsties in damp lowland areas and on sandstones, non-observance of sanitary conditions for keeping animals.
Clinical signs and consequences
Ascariasis in pigs can manifest itself in various forms.
Acute stage of development
Symptoms of an acute course are:
- allergic reactions,
- nervous disorders in the form of convulsive states and tremors in the limbs,
- lack of coordination,
- the appearance of a dry cough, turning into a wet state and bronchopneumonia,
- increase in overall body temperature.
On the skin of piglets infected with ascariasis, rashes with papules up to the size of a grain may appear, gradually turning after 5-6 days into scabs with brown or black edging.
Chronic stage
With diagnosed chronic development, a decrease in the appetite of animals is clearly expressed. Symptoms of the disease can be disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, both in the form of diarrhea and constipation.
Adults do not show symptoms of development in a chronic form. Infected piglets stop in their development rates and lose weight, losing weight greatly.
Infection with ascariasis disease of pigs leads to various consequences:
- inflammatory processes begin in organs and tissues due to a mechanical violation of the integrity of blood vessels during the movement of ascaris larvae;
- allergic reactions are manifested due to the toxicity of the vital activity of the larvae in the body of the animal, which release metabolic products during the development process;
- due to mechanical damage to the intestinal walls, frequent ruptures occur, leading to tissue atrophy;
- the roundworms that have settled in the hepatic ducts in pigs cause complications in the outflow of bile,
- in the liver, white-spotted changes are observed, and the lung tissues undergo hemorrhages and are covered with foci of pneumonia.
The most severe consequence of ascariasis is the development of pneumonia.
Diagnosis and treatment
As the main method for diagnosing ascariasis in pigs, a laboratory study of feces for the presence of ascaris larvae and eggs is used with a simultaneous analysis of clinical symptoms and signs of the disease, after which treatment is prescribed.
The diagnosis of ascariasis can be made by conducting a study for an antigen that is prepared from ascaris and is found in piglets in the ear area. A positive reaction can be judged by the appearance after 5 minutes at the injection site of a red rim, which does not disappear after an hour.
In the treatment of pigs from the described ailment, anthelmintic drugs and their salts are used. Among the most common remedies for treatment is piperazine, which is prescribed to animals twice a day in the morning and in the evening when feeding. In this case, a single dose for piglets weighing up to 50 kg is 0.3 g of the drug per 1 kg of body weight. For adults, the dose of piperazine is 15 g of active substance per kilogram of body weight.
Piperazine treatment is carried out by the group method, for which the required amount of the substance for all livestock in the pigsty is calculated and mixed with feed. Weakened animals are treated in small groups of up to 30 animals.
For the treatment of ascariasis, you can use medicated feed containing piperazine salts, which are fed at the rate of 2 kg per head per day as the main food.
Preventive measures
In pig breeding, as a preventive measure, planned deworming is mandatory. For sows this is done a month before farrowing, for the entire livestock as a whole - in the autumn and before moving the livestock to the stalls.
Resistance of pigs to ascariasis is developed with the age of animals. Immune bodies during vaccination appear already on the 5-10th day and persist for 3-4 months.
The cycle of preventive deworming of young animals depends on the time of the event:
- If this is done before mid-winter (until December), then during the initial prophylaxis, piglets at the age of 35-40 days are given medications, the second stage falls on the age of 80 days.
- If deworming activities fall on the period after December to May, then the initial stage falls on the age of piglets 50-55 days, and the second - on a 90-day period.
The prevention of ascariasis also involves the disinfection of the premises where the livestock of pigs is kept, for which they can be used:
- fly ash,
- 5% sodium solution (70-80 ° C),
- 10% xylonaphtha emulsion on water (70-80 ° C).
For prevention purposes, the floors in the pigsty and on the walking grounds are made with a covering of solid material, the premises are cleaned of manure daily, followed by thermal sterilization.