April 2023 - Strategy FINAL - Flipbook - Page 10
Health
Health Strategies at Work
Three Case Studies to Consider
Dr. Rachel Jensen
Veterinarian,
Pipestone Veterinary Services
Dr. Emily McDowell
Veterinarian,
Pipestone Veterinary Services
Dr. Evan Koep
Veterinarian,
Pipestone Veterinary Services
Dr. Rachel Jensen grew up near
Cresco, Iowa and attended Iowa State
University. In college, she discovered
a passion for swine production and
joined PIPESTONE in 2021.
Dr. Emily McDowell grew up near
Primghar, Iowa. She attended Iowa
State University and joined the
PIPESTONE team in 2013.
Dr. Evan Koep, a southwest Minnesota
native, completed undergraduate
degrees at South Dakota State
University and DVM at Iowa State.
He joined PIPESTONE in 2019.
parasuis, are causing significant
reduction in production.
having the viral co-infection with
the DASS, it created the perfect
breeding environment in the
lungs for the DASS to systemically
infect the pig. To reduce DASS
impact, an influenza elimination
protocol was performed and
successfully turned the herd
to influenza negative status.
Antibiotics also play an important
role in DASS reduction but need
to be used in a strategic manner.
The goal is to set up the farm
and pigs for success with minimal
antibiotic intervention. For the
Iowan producer, antibiotics
were given to the sows in
a one-time pulse to reduce
shedding and help stabilize the
farm as well as an antibiotic
given at processing to help
the piglets fight off the natural
infection. After implementing
these modifications, the Iowan
producer saw a significant
reduction in their DASS burden to
their pigs’ health and production.
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Streptococcus suis
by Dr. Rachel Jensen
Streptococcus suis is
a challenging bacterial
pathogen when it comes
to swine health since it can
cause infections in the brain,
joints, heart, and lungs of young
pigs. Strep. suis is a normal
inhabitant of the respiratory
tract and is found in all swine
herds. It becomes a problem
when it expresses virulent factors
that cause disease. When you
have a disease-associated
Streptococcus suis (DASS) in
your sow herd, the only way to
eliminate the pathogenic strain
is to complete a depopulation
and repopulation of the herd
from a source that is negative
for DASS. It is a difficult decision
to depopulate and repopulate a
herd. A good time to consider it
as a viable option is when there is
a new disease break in the herd
such as porcine reproductive
and respiratory syndrome virus
(PRRSV) or the bacterial burden
of the DASS in combination with
other pathogens, like Glaesserella
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PIPESTONE JOURNAL
Since a depopulation and
repopulation is a very expensive
and not always feasible option,
there are tools that we can use
to reduce the impact of DASS
in our pigs and production.
Things to address are immunity,
environmental stress reduction,
decreased pathogen coinfections, and strategic antibiotic
therapy.
An example of this was a
producer in Iowa who was
struggling with DASS both at
the sow farm and in the nursery.
To reduce the burden of their
DASS, we worked on building
immunity within their sow herd
and in the piglets. An autogenous
vaccine was made to perfectly
match the strain of DASS in the
herd. The next thing to adjust
was eliminating environmental
stresses like overcrowding,
poor ventilation, humidity, and
poor sanitation. Ventilation was
adjusted both in the farrowing
rooms as well as the nurseries
to ensure that the rooms stayed
warm and dry. The sow farm
was also influenza positive. By
There is no easy or quick fix for
DASS. However, there are many
health and management tools
that can be utilized to reduce
the impact of DASS and improve
swine health and production in
your herd.