Heimann Marcus, Hartmann Maria, Freise Fritjof, Kreienbrock Lothar, Grosse Beilage Elisabeth
Field Station for Epidemiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buescheler Str. 9, 49456, Bakum, Germany.
Department of Biometry, Epidemiology and Information Processing, WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training for Health at the Human-Animal-Environment Interface, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buenteweg 2, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Porcine Health Manag. 2024 Jan 4;10(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s40813-023-00351-9.
Foot lesions in suckling piglets have been associated with poor flooring in several studies and were recently proposed to be indicative of swine inflammatory and necrosis syndrome. However, identical findings are also the typical outcome of various non-infectious causes; thus, further risk analysis is needed. The objective of this study was to describe the development of heel bruising, coronary band lesions and forelimb skin abrasion in suckling pigs up to 5 days of age. Furthermore, the effects of various intrinsic and extrinsic factors were examined. On each of four commercial piglet-producing farms, piglets from two or three batches of eight sows were studied. The piglets were included within 18 h after birth. Each piglet was individually scored four times. The score for the heels differentiated six (0-5) and for the coronary band and forelimb skin abrasion three stages (0-2). The body weight was measured two times. The effect of the floor was estimated by allocating the sows randomly to farrowing pens equipped with either soft rubber mats covered with litter or fully slatted plastic floors.
The final analysis comprised data from 1045 piglets. Foot lesions were not found at birth but started to develop on day 1. On day 5, heel bruising was found in 94%, main claw coronary band lesions in 49% and forelimb skin abrasion in 73% of the piglets. In a multifactorial logistic regression analysis, it was shown that a slatted plastic floor significantly increased the odds of heel bruising and coronary band lesions, while a rubber floor with litter increased the odds of forelimb skin abrasions.
Foot and forelimb lesions in new-born piglets are mainly induced by the floor. The effect of slatted plastic floors on heel bruising showed an overwhelming OR of 52.89 (CI 26.29-106.43). Notably, coronary band lesions in young suckling piglets occur on slatted as well as non-slatted floors, indicating that the piglets incur these injuries not only from the wedging of their feet into the gaps between slats but also from contact with the floor while suckling. Based on these findings, preventive measures should be redirected to the improvement of the floor in the farrowing pen, particularly in the area under the sow's udder.
在多项研究中，哺乳仔猪的足部病变与地板状况不佳有关，最近有人提出这是猪炎症和坏死综合征的指标。然而，同样的发现也是各种非传染性原因的典型结果；因此，需要进一步进行风险分析。本研究的目的是描述5日龄以内哺乳仔猪足跟瘀伤、冠状带病变和前肢皮肤擦伤的发展情况。此外，还研究了各种内在和外在因素的影响。在四个商业化仔猪生产农场中，对来自两到三批、每批八头母猪的仔猪进行了研究。仔猪在出生后18小时内被纳入研究。每头仔猪分别进行四次评分。足跟评分分为六个等级（0 - 5），冠状带和前肢皮肤擦伤评分分为三个等级（0 - 2）。测量仔猪体重两次。通过将母猪随机分配到配备有覆盖垫料的软橡胶垫或全漏缝塑料地板的产仔栏来评估地板的影响。
最终分析包括来自1045头仔猪的数据。出生时未发现足部病变，但在第1天开始出现。在第5天，94%的仔猪出现足跟瘀伤，49%出现主爪冠状带病变，73%出现前肢皮肤擦伤。在多因素逻辑回归分析中，结果显示漏缝塑料地板显著增加了足跟瘀伤和冠状带病变的几率，而带有垫料的橡胶地板增加了前肢皮肤擦伤的几率。
新生仔猪的足部和前肢病变主要由地板引起。漏缝塑料地板对足跟瘀伤的影响显示出极高的优势比，为52.89（置信区间26.29 - 106.43）。值得注意的是，年轻哺乳仔猪的冠状带病变在漏缝地板和非漏缝地板上均有发生，这表明仔猪不仅因脚楔入板条间隙而受伤，还在哺乳时因与地板接触而受伤。基于这些发现，预防措施应转向改善产仔栏的地板，特别是母猪乳房下方的区域。
