Przyborowska Paulina, Lewko-Wojtowicz Renata, Cybulski Piotr, Maes Dominiek, Tobolski Dawid
Department of Veterinary Public Health Protection, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 14, Olsztyn, 10-719, Poland.
Ceva Animal Health Poland, Okrzei 1A, Warsaw, 03-715, Poland.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Dec 6;20(1):554. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04410-3.
Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) significantly impacts the swine industry worldwide, leading to economic losses due to poor growth performance, reduced feed efficiency, higher medication costs, and adversely affecting pig welfare by causing clinical symptoms such as fever, cough, loss of appetite, lethargy, and dyspnea. Cranio-ventral pulmonary consolidation (CVPC) and pleuritis are the most frequent macroscopic lung lesions observed in PRDC and are indicators of decreased animal welfare. This study aimed to quantify the effects of CVPC and pleurisy on carcass weight, meatiness, and average daily carcass weight gain (ADCWG) in fattening pigs, thereby assessing their impact on both production and welfare. A total of 679 slaughtered pigs from seven batches (farms) were evaluated for lung lesions at slaughter. We employed a mixed-model analysis to assess the correlation between lung lesions and production parameters across the farms.
The mean prevalence of lesions was 23.86% for CVPC and 15.46% for pleurisy, indicating a significant presence of respiratory disease affecting animal welfare. Pigs with severe lung lesions (≥ 15.1%) exhibited significantly lower ADCWG compared to pigs without lesions (0.951 kg/day vs. 0.997 kg/day, p = 0.024), reflecting reduced growth performance and welfare. The mixed-effects model revealed that lesions in the right apical lobe and dorso-caudal pleurisy were associated with significant reductions in carcass weight (- 2.77 kg and - 2.29 kg, respectively) and carcass meat (- 1.76 kg and - 1.43 kg, respectively). An economic analysis under average market price conditions demonstrated that severe lung lesions could lead to financial losses of up to 11.53 EUR per 100 kg of meat, emphasizing the economic impact of compromised welfare due to respiratory diseases.
This study provides quantitative evidence of the negative impact of CVPC and pleurisy on carcass weight and meatiness in fattening pigs. The findings underscore the importance of effective respiratory disease management in swine production, highlighting potential areas for targeted interventions to improve animal health and economic outcomes.
猪呼吸道疾病综合征（PRDC）对全球养猪业有重大影响，因其导致生长性能差、饲料效率降低、用药成本增加而造成经济损失，并通过引起发热、咳嗽、食欲不振、嗜睡和呼吸困难等临床症状对猪的福利产生不利影响。颅腹侧肺实变（CVPC）和胸膜炎是PRDC中最常见的宏观肺部病变，是动物福利下降的指标。本研究旨在量化CVPC和胸膜炎对育肥猪胴体重量、肉质和平均每日胴体重量增加（ADCWG）的影响，从而评估它们对生产和福利的影响。对来自七个批次（农场）的679头屠宰猪在屠宰时进行了肺部病变评估。我们采用混合模型分析来评估各农场肺部病变与生产参数之间的相关性。
CVPC病变的平均发生率为23.86%，胸膜炎为15.46%，表明存在影响动物福利的显著呼吸道疾病。与无病变的猪相比，有严重肺部病变（≥15.1%）的猪ADCWG显著更低（0.951千克/天对0.997千克/天，p = 0.024），反映出生长性能和福利降低。混合效应模型显示，右尖叶病变和背尾侧胸膜炎分别与胴体重量显著降低（分别为-2.77千克和-2.29千克）和胴体肉量显著降低（分别为-1.76千克和-1.43千克）相关。在平均市场价格条件下的经济分析表明，严重肺部病变可能导致每100千克肉最多损失11.53欧元，强调了呼吸道疾病导致福利受损的经济影响。
本研究提供了CVPC和胸膜炎对育肥猪胴体重量和肉质产生负面影响的定量证据。研究结果强调了猪生产中有效呼吸道疾病管理的重要性，突出了针对性干预以改善动物健康和经济成果的潜在领域。
