(Continued from Page 5) One of the Salmonella choleraesuis vaccine directions in cludes intranasal or oral administration at 3 weeks of age or older. Since this vaccine is an avirulent inactivated modified live vaccine, it should be used in the absence of medications. The pigs should be taken off all feed or water medication 2 to 3 days prior to and 3 to 5 days after administration to pre vent destruction of the vaccine. Label directions including withdrawal times before slaughter should be read before any vaccination program is finalized. Some vaccines that contain oil adjuvants advise 60-day withdrawal times. Vaccine products vary considerably, and manufacturers’ recommendations for time of administration differ. All of the various conditions could not be included in the timeta ble. The producer’s veterinarian should be consulted for specific vaccination recommendations for each situation. For example, veterinary assistance should be used to determine which species, strain, or serotype should be in cluded in the selected bacterins. Vaccinations that offer sev eral choices include Pasteurella, E. coli, Actinobacillus, Mycoplasma, and leptospirosis. Immunization is a complex process and many unforeseen circumstances can interfere with the planned protection against the specific disease. These include maternal anti body interference, stress at the time of vaccination, poor nu trition, and inappropriate vaccine or faulty vaccine due to poor handling or lack of refrigeration. Administration tech niques using improper needle length and size or wrong de position site also can contribute to insufficient antibody development and protection. Vaccination does not necessar ily mean immunization. Some operations use no vaccines yet have excellent herd performance. These herds rely on strict sanitation and herd exposure control methods, such as exposing young gilts to the adult herd at least one month prior to breeding to pre vent parvovirus and perhaps other unidentified viruses that cause reproductive failure problems. In a well-managed herd, growing pigs may require no vaccinations. Segregated Early Weaning Segregated early weaning (SEW) is a production manage ment technique designed to control or eliminate specific swine diseases with minimal use of vaccines and antibiotics. Pigs are weaned at less than 21 days of age and benefit from the protective colostral antibodies from their highly immune dams. Pigs (usually no more than 7 days age varia tion) are separated at weaning from the rest of the swine herd and reared all-in, all-out by room, building or site. Strict biosecurity measures are enforced. SEW decreases the low-level disease in the herd and growth rate improves in these high health status pigs. However, these high health pigs are more susceptible to disease if exposure to infectious agents occurs. Control of Parasites Before proceeding with an active deworming program, fecal examinations from at least five pigs, each at 10 to IS weeks and 16 to 26 weeks of age and from at least five sows or boars should be made to determine the species of worms present. Samples should be collected from several different pens. Slaughter health checks also can be helpful in deter mining the presence and extent of a parasite problem. The dewormer effective against the parasite(s) diagnosed should be used as recommended by the manufacturer. Fre quently in slotted-floor systems, no worm eggs are found, and a dewormer may not be required. The importance of fecal exams representative of the entire herd and slaughter health checks are stressed. Diagnosis of mange may require skin scrapings of young pigs or older sows and microscopic examination by a veteri narian. If mange and/or lice are present, an intensive pro gram for external parasite elimination is possible with a single product or a combination of products. Injectable en dectocides (products that remove internal and external parasites), pour-ons and sprays are effective products for use against mange. Manufacturers’ recommendations should be followed in cluding amount applied and pressure if a spray is used. Ex ternal applications should be repeated within 7 to 10 days. Caution should be exercised against the indiscriminate si multaneous use of different products. Lice and mange can be eliminated from the herd with a well-designed, veterinar ian-assisted program. Records Records are important to the success of a herd health pro gram. They enable the producer and herd health team to identify problems in the operation and to measure the prog ress of the program. Farrowing records should denote the sow number, sire(s), date of farrowing, number born, number alive, number mummies, litter weight, weaning age and weight, and number weaned. Any abnormalities, disease problems, and treatments of pigs or sows should be recorded. Using a com puter program to retrieve and compare data enhances the value of records. With the exception of newborn pigs, hogs that die should generally be necropsied by the attending veterinarian or taken to a state diagnostic laboratory. Follow the attending veterinarian’s guidelines. Routine postmortem examina tion, regardless of cause of death, detects chronic, slow moving but costly diseases before they become established in a herd. Moreover, a devastating disease may be prevented by vaccination or treatment before serious losses occur. Slaughter Checks Routine slaughter checks of at least 20 percent of a pro duction group or up to 30 market-sized hogs by a veterinar ian will provide considerable herd health information. Slaughter checks need to be included in the calendar to allow the producer and veterinarian to monitor the health status of the herd and the effectiveness of the herd health program. The veterinarian should inspect the lungs for bacterial and mycoplasmal pneumonia, the liver for parasite damage, and the snout for evidence of atrophic rhinitis. Mange, arthritis, foot injuries, and abscesses also can be detected. With the exception of the veterinary inspection fee, the pro ducer incurs no financial costs from a slaughter check be cause the carcasses are processed normally. When the producer does not have a cooperative packer nearby, two or three market hogs can be slaughtered at a local plant, and arrangements can be made with a veterinar ian to inspect the slaughter. If this alternative is not practi cal, the lungs, liver, snout, and intestines can be collected and taken to the veterinarian’s office for examination. (Turn to Page 8)
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