Harry Snelson American Association of Swine Veterinarians

Publish Date: April 19, 2012

Proliferative enteropathy (ileitis) is an infectious enteric disease characterized by thickening of the mucosa of the intestine due to hyperplasia of the crypt enterocytes. The disease in pigs includes several acute and chronic clinical manifestations, including proliferative hemorrhagic enteropathy and acute hemorrhagic diarrhea with sudden death of pigs close to market age, and porcine intestinal adenomatosis, a chronic mild diarrhea with reduced performance of growing pigs. Other terms used to describe this disease include necrotic enteritis, regional or terminal ileitis, garden-hose gut, and subclinical ileitis. All forms of the disease have in common the presence of proliferating crypt epithelial cells caused by an obligately intracellular bac- terium, Lawsonia intracellularis. Proliferative enteropathy has been reported in various other animal species, including hamsters, horses, ferrets, foxes, rabbits, deer, some avian species, and non-human primates.

Publish Date: April 9, 2012

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in neonatal pigs. Diarrheal disease in neonates is often sudden in onset and causes a rapid decline in clinical condition as the pig becomes dehydrated and develops systemic infections. Thus prevention, early identification, and immediate initiation of supportive care and treatment in neonatal diarrhea cases are critical. This fact sheet will review the basic aspects of neonatal diarrhea in pigs including clinical signs, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and control strategies.

Publish Date: April 9, 2012

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a bacteria that is a normal ‘resident’ of the nose and skin of people and other mammals. It is also an important ‘opportunistic’ pathogen of people that usually causes localized skin infections but can sometimes cause severe and fatal infections, most often in people suffering other health challenges. Particular clones (or strains) of antibiotic resistant SA, particularly those resistant to a drug called methicillin (thus ‘MRSA’), and related compounds (including penicillins and cephalosporins) are among the most important causes of hospital-acquired infections worldwide.