D2B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 21,1931 Ask the Sfc VMD Jk Leon Riegei SMEDI spells problems A reader asks: What is SMEDI and what can be done to prevent this problem in young sows? Dr. Trayer comments : The leiters SMEDI stand for stillborn mummified fetus em bryonic death and infertility. These are symptoms and clinical findings associated with a viral infection or exposure in what previously was thought to be a disorder occurmg in young sows gilts in the age range of 6 to 10 months. Most commonly the virus identified is porcine parvovirus which affects first Utter gilts, and can be found in boar semen. (It is not known what the implications of the virus in the semen are, but it is a consideration when using ar tificial insemination methods.) The actual diagnosis of par vovirus in the herd, besides seeing the clinical problems of stillborn, mummified litters, can be ac complished by blood sampling older sows and testing for par vovirus antibodies. It has been found 99 percent of the time the herd will show positive test results, confirming the farmer’s suspicions Another diagnostic tool is sub- EASIEST HANDLING HE JShY! MODERN woven ' MORE HORSEPOWER STRAIGHT LINE HO BEOS POWER DESIGN w cMA/ws lowest center OF GRAVITY / **nFr* EASIEST HANDLING OF ALL REAR TILLERS MAINUNE ENGINE ENGAGES THROUGH A POSITIVE AUTOMOTIVE DRtCONE CLUTCH s\QC-r\i rrri THE HIGHER THE ENGINE OBSOLclt' IS MOUNTED FROM 010 DESIGN GROUND LEVEL THE ENGINE MOUNTED MORE TOR HEAVY AND HIGH FOR UNSTABLE THE TILLER PULLEY DRIVE BECOMES itlSK HERE ENGINE /’■ ENGAGEMENT f ■& TAKES PLACE BY - 1 BELTS Synthea Maas Tim Trayer mission of mummified or stillborn fetuses to the state’s laboratory for diagnostic workup. This requires keeping the fetus on ice - the fetus should be frozen immediately. This, along with the blood sample, will help identify the problem The clinical signs associated with parvovirus are variable and depend upon the stage of pregnancy of the female. If the female in heat is first exposed to the virus after being isolated from adult breeding stock until the tune she is brought into the breeding area, the fetuses will be resorbed within the first 35 days of pregnancy and the gilt mil come back in heat on an irregular cycle This is perceived to be an infertility problem, where in ac tuality the young gilt is developing an active immunity to the virus If a susceptible female between 35 and 70 days pregnant is exposed to parvovirus for the first tune, the fetuses cannot be resorbed com pletely because there is skeletal mass Hence, farmers will often find dehydrated fetuses, called mummies It is unlikely for the mummies to be expelled at this tune, and the gilt will go to term Near farrowing time the gilt will not exhibit the normal charac teristics of parturition and, a few MAINLINE TILLERS YEAR ROUND FLEXIBILITY WITH A DOZEN DIFFERENT ATTACHMENTS' Mainline, s exclusive, power design puls vour garden ullei to woik on seasonal fobs all vear long' All \ou need is one wrench lo remove lhe standard 20 tiller assembly You can then easiiv attach the 44 sickle bar mower shown here or a 20 rotary snow thrower a 36 snow plow/do/er blade a 10 cubic foot dumping transport can and mans more carefully en gmeered Mainline attachments It is important to us as a dealer lo oner vou lop quality in all lines We arc convinced that Mainline offers more features and value than any other rear-mount rotarv idler MAINLINE, BETTER by DESIGN * LET US SHOW YOU A MAINLINE IN OPERATION! BASIC SYSTEMS CALL FOR APPT. BOX 191 A, ATGLEN, PA 593-6093 or 593-2169 days later, may expel these mummified fetuses. When exposed after 70 days into pregnancy, there is seldom any effect on the developing fetuses and the litter should be normal. Often what happens is some of the litter is exposed, resulting m Utters containing resorbed fetuses (blood clots), varying sizes of mummified fetuses and normal fetuses. This shows a varied response to the virus, with the gilt developing an immunity while being exposed and saving some of the pigs. The only sign that can be -'L~ Edgar Sheaffer Volume-Belt 9 cattle feeder Simple design gives you big-capacity performance at a lower cost per foot than other feeders in its class. Few moving parts to cause feeding slowdowns. Takes only 1 hp to load up a 190 ft. bunk, so you save on power costs while you save feeding time. Fast, quiet and dependable, too. See us for systems and service that help make the good life better. AGRI EQUIPMENT INC. 2754 Creek Hill Rd Leola, PA 17540 717-656-4151 I. G. SALES Rt 113, Box 200 Silverdale, PA 215-257-5135 G. HIRAM BUCHMAN, INC. Rte 519 -N off Rte 46 P O Box 185 Belvidere, NJ 07823 201-475-2185 GEORGE A. COLEMAN BENNETT MACHINE CO. detected when a gilt is first ex posed to the virus is a slight elevation in temperature. They generally don’t go off feed or show any other external signs until later down the road when reproductive problems become evident. The answer to the problem in the past has been to practice the 30- day exposure period where new breeding stock is brought in, kept in waiting 30 days before breeding, exposing the gilts to fresh manure of mature sows and boars in order to allow active immunity development. Most commonly, the offspring of animals, that have been exposed to the virus receive passive im munity through the sow’s colostrum in the milk. This im munity lasts somewhere between s>/2 to 7 months. Selecting young breeding stock less than 7 months old and breeding them early in creases the SMEDI problem because the animal has not been able to develop active immunity since the passive immunity has not JAMESWAY® DEPENDABLE MOTORS ROVENDALE SUPPLY Honey Brook. PA RD 2, Watsontown, PA 17777 215-273-3131 717-538-5521 215-273-3737 iicmov c . add SOLLENBER6ER SILOS ncntlT ». Lflrr RFD 2, Chambersburg, PA RDI, Cams, Gap, PA 17527 717-264-9588 717-442-8134 HARRY L. TROOP Rt 1 Cochranville, PA 19330 215-593-6731 ERB& HENRY EQUIP., INC. 22-26 Henry Avenue New Berlinville, PA 215-367-2169 Rt #2, Box 216 Elmer, NJ 609-358-8528 worn off completely. When or at what level is par vovirus a serious problem’ Usually on large farrowmgy numbers, somewhere between 0.1 ' percent of the litter turning up mummified signals a problem. Farmers suspecting SMEDI should not confuse this problem with stillborns, ‘lepto’ infection, iron deficiency, or toxicity developments. In the past, the only method for combating parvovirus in the herd was to feed the young breeding stock fresh manure from the mature herd. In the near future there may be an effective vaccine available for young breeding stock. This vaccine is being tested at the University of Minnesota. Reports in literature of European studies done on large commercial herds question the effectiveness of feeding fecal material of mature breeding stock to gilts in order to establish im munity. Two problems identified (I urn to Page 030) J. A. SWOPE Box 121, RDI Myerstown, PA 717-933-4758 DETWILER SILO REPAIR Rt 2, Newvilte, PA 717-776-7533 1601 S Dupont Blvd Milford, DE 302-422-4837 ; a /
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