Productive and financial affect of pig lung lesions detected at slaught – Articles


Lesions within the respiration tract of pigs are recurrently detected in slaughterhouses and are thought to be one of the essential well being and welfare issues in extensive pig farms around the globe. Publish-mortem analysis of macroscopic lesions within the respiration device of pigs is a treasured device to spot affected herds, in addition to one solution to assess the severity of the lesions, each experimentally and underneath box prerequisites. This custom additionally makes it imaginable to estimate financial losses; in this account, a number of research correlate manufacturing losses to seen spaces of wear and tear.


The 2 maximum commonplace lesions evaluated within the swine respiration tract at slaughter are cranioventral pulmonary consolidation (CVPC) (Determine 1), and pleurisy (Determine 2). CVPC is suggestive of porcine enzootic pneumonia, related to herds inflamed by way of Mycoplasma (M.) hyopneumoniae, whilst pleurisies are typically penalties of a number of respiration or systemic bacterial infections. Those eventualities, when they don’t reason mortality, indisputably intrude with pig efficiency.


Figure 1. Cranioventral pulmonary consolidation (CVPC) in pig.
Determine 1. Cranioventral pulmonary consolidation (CVPC) in pig.


Figure 2. Pleurisy detected in the swine respiratory tract at slaughter.
Determine 2. Pleurisy detected within the swine respiration tract at slaughter.


Just lately, two overview articles (Boeters et al., 2023; Maes et al., 2023) analyzed a number of research on porcine respiration illnesses, declaring, amongst different data, the commercial penalties of lung lesions seen at slaughterhouses. Boeters et al. (2023) aimed to grasp the monetary penalties of endemically prevalent pathogens inside the porcine respiration illness advanced (PRDC).


Effects printed that the median financial affect of 1 or a number of co-existing respiration pathogen(s) ranged from:


  • €1.70 to €8.90 in keeping with nursery pig.
  • €2.30 to €15.35 in keeping with fattening pig.
  • €100 to €323 in keeping with sow in keeping with yr.


The authors highlighted that the porcine reproductive and respiration syndrome virus (PRRS) was once by way of a ways essentially the most studied pathogen, adopted by way of M. hyopneumoniae. In line with Maes et al. (2023), the technique to evaluate respiration tract lesions in pigs at slaughter is an especially great tool for acquiring information at the well being standing of the herd. Additional, CVPC and pleurisy have a significant destructive affect on pig efficiency, and the rise within the extension of the lesions can also be because of a couple of infections.


CVPC and pleurisy lesions additionally have an effect on other parameters indicative of carcass and meat high quality, resulting in an greater possibility for deficient processing and garage of the carcasses.


Desk 1 gifts an summary of quite a lot of research that assess the affect of the presence and severity of CVPC on reasonable day by day achieve (ADG) in pigs. In particular, inspecting the commercial losses associated with the spaces of lesions led to by way of M. hyopneumoniae (CPVC lesions), the find out about performed by way of Ferraz et al. (2020) supplies an purpose indicator. It was once seen that for each 1% building up within the CVPC lesion space, there was once a 1.8 g lower in ADG. Additionally, all experimental teams with the presence of lesions confirmed decrease ADG when in comparison to people with out lesions. Thus, the commercial research of the find out about indicated that losses may just succeed in as much as US$6.55 in keeping with pig at slaughter because of an infection with M. hyopneumoniae.


Desk 1. Evaluation of a few research that assessing the affect of the presence and severity of cranioventral pulmonary consolidation (CVPC) on reasonable day by day achieve (ADG) in pigs*










Reference Learn about inhabitants Have an effect on on ADG Remark
Regula et al., 2000 Seven farms (18 cohorts with 30-35 pigs/cohort) -6.8 g/day for each 1% of affected lung Serologic trying out was once more practical than slaughter analysis in assessing the affect of subclinical an infection on ADG.
Donko et al., 2005 One farm (138 pigs) Ranking 2:

-45 g/day (-6%)

Ranking 3:

-90 g/day (-11%)
Lung consolidation:

ranking 1: 0-5%; ranking 2: 6-40%; ranking 3: >40%

Ranking 2:

3.13 kg much less at slaughter

Ranking 3:

10.85 kg much less at slaughter
Pagot et al., 2007 14 farms (6,997 pigs) -7.0 g/day (0.7%) ADG for 1 level building up in severity ranking (1-28) Extra ADG lower in pigs with serious lesions:

Ranking 0: -775 g;

Ratings 1-4: -750 g;

Ratings 5-8: -735 g;

Ranking >8: -695 g
Ferraz et al., 2020 One farm (500 pigs) -1.8 g/day for each and every 1% of affected lung floor Monetary lack of $6.55 in pigs with greater than 15% affected lung tissue in comparison to animals with out lesions.
Paz-Sánchez et al., 2021 One farm (108 pigs) Pigs with CVPC and pleuritis, had 9% and 11% relief on ADG, respectively. Pigs with CVPC remained on the farm longer; the ones with >10% of lung parenchyma involvement had been despatched later; and had a decrease reasonable carcass weight, and a decrease day by day weight achieve.


* Tailored from Maes et al. (2023).


Their investigations have offered other effects, however all point out vital manufacturing losses:


  • Regula et al. (2000) reported a lower in ADG of 6.8 g for each and every % of affected lung tissue.
  • Donko et al. (2005) confirmed a discount in ADG all over the fattening length of five.5% and 11% for pigs with CVPC ranking 2 (5-40% of lung tissue consolidated) and ranking 3 (> 40% of lung tissue consolidated), respectively.
  • Pagot et al. (2007) reported that one supplementary level within the CVPC ranking (0-28) corresponded with roughly 0.7% of misplaced enlargement. Additionally, the presence of CVPC showed at slaughter can expect a discount within the animals’ enlargement price of seven% and, if they’re related to pleurisy, it will possibly succeed in 20%.


The affect of pleurisy


Relating to pleurisy, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae performs a basic position within the an infection and building of the pleural lesion as a number one pathogen. Pasteurela (P.) multocida would possibly reason an identical lesions and/or be fascinated by those lesions, regularly with co-infeccion eventualities. The presence of M. hyopneumoniae within the lung can fortify P. multocida pathogenicity (Park et al., 2016), thus expanding the incidence of pleurisy.


In line with Petri et al. (2023) who inspected 1,015 carcasses from 3 other industrial pig farms, the use of the slaughterhouse pleurisy analysis device (SPES) and decided on 106 pleural and lung fragments for qPCR, the severity of the lung lesions was once correlated with the presence of P. multocida and M. hyopneumoniae, thus highlighting the significance of co-infections. Relating to productive losses, Paz-Sánchez et al., (2021) analyzed one unmarried herd by which CVPC and pleuritis lesions generated 9% and 11% relief in ADG, respectively.


Moreover, some authors reported a lower within the high quality of the beef, because of adjustments in pH, colour, and water retention, loss in cooking high quality, and adjustments in taste in pig carcasses with respiration tract accidents (Przyborowska-Zhalniarovich et al., 2023).


After all, the incidence of lung lesions in slaughtered pigs is a trademark of the lifestyles of productive losses within the pig manufacturing device and highlights the want to broaden methods to regulate respiration illnesses within the herd.

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