Sánchez-Matamoros*1, A.; Boix1, O.; Deroo2, E.; Defoort2, P.; Blanch1, M.; Gale1, I.
1HIPRA, Amer (Girona), Spain. / 2PROVET, Kortemark, Belgium.
*Corresponding author (almudena.sanchez@hipra.com)
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
Oedema disease (OD) is an enterotoxaemia caused by the Verotoxin 2e (Vt2e) of E. coli. The subclinical form of the disease is characterized by delayed growth performance without clinical signs1 . Detection of the vt2e gene in piglets allows identification of this disease, whilst vaccination against OD could improve productive parameters2,3. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of VEPURED® vaccination on growth performance on a vt2e-positive farm without clinical signs or mortality related to OD.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A Belgian farrow-to-finish commercial farm, without clinical signs or mortality
related to OD and vt2e positive PCR, was selected. One batch of 621 piglets of
2-4 days of age was randomized to a vaccinated group and a control group to
which VEPURED® (HIPRA) or 1 ml of PBS was administered respectively. OD
clinical signs, vt2e presence in oral fluid (VEROCHECK4,5,6), mortality and
individual productive parameters were assessed from farrowing to slaughter.
RESULTS
This farm was diagnosed with subclinical OD disease based on vt2e detection,
absence of OD clinical signs and mortality, together with a suspicion of
reduced productive results. During the trial, the presence of vt2e was
confirmed in the fattening phase (Table 1). This set-up allowed the efficacy of
the vaccine against subclinical OD to be assessed, based on productive results.
During the nursery period, individual growth performance of the vaccinated
group was not statistically higher than that of the control group (Figure 1). At
the end of the fattening period, individual growth performance was
significantly higher (p-value<0.01) in the vaccinated animals (Figure 1). The
animals in the vaccinated group had a mean weight that was 2,669 gr higher
than the control group.
Similarly, the carcass weight in the slaughterhouse was significantly higher in
the vaccinated group (92.92 Kg) compared to the control group (90.88 Kg),
although the lean meat and carcass classification was similar between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Piglet vaccination against OD showed a positive effect on this particular farm
with a significant improvement in the productive parameters at culling time.
These results confirm that piglet vaccination with VEPURED® from 2 days of
age could be a useful tool against delayed growth performance and its
economic effects on farms with a subclinical form of OD.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PROVET, DIAGNOS and CEYC for their technical and logistical support.
REFERENCES
1. Zimmerman, JL et al. April 2012. Diseases of Swine 10th Edition.
Wiley-Blackwell.
2. Perozo, E et al. A multicentric, randomized field trial on the efficacy and
safety of VEPURED®, a new vaccine against edema disease in pigs. Animal
and Veterinary Sciences. 2018; 6(6):95-101.3.
3. Mallorquí J, et al. Reduced mortality and morbidity associated with
verotoxin 2e-induced edema disease in pigs using a recombinant verotoxin
2e vaccine. J Swine Health Prod. 2018;26(5):253-261.
4. Valls, L et al. Equivalence between FTA-fixed and liquid oral fluid of pigs for
the confirmation of infection by Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (edema
disease) in pigs. ESPHM proceedings 2018.
5. Valls, L et al. Improving edema disease diagnosis in pigs by detecting the
vt2e toxin gen in oral fluid by qPCR. ESPHM proceedings 2018.
6. Sánchez-Matamoros, A et al. Survillance of edema disease in nursery and
fattening swin farms. ESPHM proceedings 2018.
