C2B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 13,1980
LTTITZ When the object
of the game is to wm, prior
planning and good
management of resources
are two of the best possible
moves. When dealing with
transmissible gastroen
teritis (TGE), those are
just about the only moves
possible.
“TGE is a killer,” says
Hal Sinclair, Manager of
Technical Services at
Diamond Laboratories, Inc.
“It kills both pigs and
profits. There simply is no
effective treatment once a
pig has been infected.
Survival rate improves with
the age of the pig, but
mortality approaches 100
percent in baby pigs during
the first seven to 10 days of
life.”
ment of the TGE virus
available, prior planning
and sound management
become all-important in
keeping the disease out of a
swine herd.
“At a T 'ery minimum,
three maj i areas should be
considered when planning a
comprehensive managem
ent program to win against
TGE,” suggests Sinclair.
“Basic to the program is
understanding TGE and
other diseases which may
affect a herd. A part of that
should include developing a
good working relationship
with the veterinarian who
will be assisting should a
problem arise,” advises
Sinclair
That understanding and
relationship will lay the
groundwork for the other
portions of the management
program
“The next two areas are
critical,” explains Sinclair
“A systematic approach
must be taken to curtail
movement of the TGE virus
into an operation To com
plement this effort, a routine
program of immunization
should also be adopted ”
TGE is difficult to
diagnose accurately unless a
complete history of the
animal is known or the virus
has been isolated from in
fected pigs Says Sinclair,
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How to save hogs from TGE
“It is usually only after the
herd is experiencing severe
death losses that the disease
is recognized as anything
other than a ‘hot’ case of
scours
‘lt’s easy to mistake TGE
for bacterial or dietary
scours Early consultation
with a veterinarian will
either confirm the worst or
allow quick treatment of
another problem. ”
The onset of TGE in very
young pigs is usually rapid
and characterized by
vomiting, profuse watery
diarrhea and dehydration.
Sows may exhibit similar
symptoms Acutely infected
sows may have recently
farrowed may also show
additional signs of anorexia,
slight fever and diminished
or stopped milk flow. Feeder
pigs may develop profuse
watery diarrhea and lose
weight
Curtailing all movement of
the TGE virus is virtually
impossible, but there are a
number of things which can
be done to make entrance of
the disease into an operation
more difficult.
“When considering
methods of keeping TGE out
of a swine herd, approach
the problem
systematically,” suggests
Sinclair. “TGE can be
spread at any time of the
year, but it thrives during
cold weather and extra
attention during that tune is
well advised.”
“Restricting access is
basic to curtailing
movement of the virus into a
herd Birds, dogs, rodents
and other animals are known
carriers of the virus Con
trolling their access to swine
feeding areas and other
facilities is a major con
sideration.
“Likewise,” continues
Sinclair, “anyone entering a
hog operation should be
considered suspect and a
possible transporter of the
virus TGE can be in
troduced on hands, feet,
clothing, even by a cough; so
the best rule to follow, is one
of exclusion of everyone
except essential personnel.
Rigorous sanitation
procedures should be
developed at each operation
and followed completely by
anyone entering swine
facihties ”
But, keep in mind that the
TGE virus is extremely
contagious, and even the
very best management
practices can’t always stop
it.
To complement efforts to
curtail movement of the
TGE virus, many pork
producers have made a TGE
immunization program part
of their management
routine. Many producers
consider vaccinating
pregnant sows with a vac
cine like TGE-Vac C to be
inexpensive insurance.
“An ongoing im
munization program is
essential,” says Sinclair.
“Even hogs that have once
had TGE are not always
immune to the disease ”
Likening the disease to a
head cold in its ability to
develop immunity, Sinclair
notes, “TGE is localized to a
particular part of the body -
the gut and because of the
localized nature, it creates
only temporary immunity.
Systemic diseases which run
through the entire body, on
the other hand, allow the
body to develop longer
immunity.”
Vaccinating each sow
prior to farrowing costs less
than 60 cents per baby pig
from an average-sized litter.
“That’s a small price to pay
to prevent diseases that can
cause loss of an entire pig
crop,” Sinclair says.
The vaccine offers the
advantages of positive dose
accuracy, says Sinclair. “It
is administered through two
intramuscular injections
given at one month in
tervals, with the second
injection recommended
from seven to 30 days to
farrowing
This assures that the sow
is getting the proper vaccine
dosage, and sows don’t have
to be taken off feed or
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vaccines mixed with special
feed or milk.”
Once the sow is im
munized, that immunization
is passed on to suckling pigs
through the sow’s milk. “But
it is important to remem
ber,” cautions Sinclair,
“that this immunity is only
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temporary and a regular
pre-farrowing immunization
program should ,be in
corporated into any
management plan.
“In major hog producing
areas, winter death losses of
baby pigs to TGE run two to
four percent. The only real
ters
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resulting $4 million to $5
million yearly loss is prior
planning and sound
management, achieved
through understanding the
disease, thwarting its
movement and immunizing
against it,” Sinclair con
cludes.
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