Vaccination for App is even useful when mortality is low
Italian field studies show that vaccination against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App)
is useful even when the mortality due to App is low. Vaccination leads to increased profitability by improving several production parameters.

Alternatives for sow cuisine
Basic pig feed ingredients, like maize and soy bran, regularly undergo price variations, with a consequent impact on production costs. So, why not consider alternatives? Dr Aloízio Soares Ferreira, from the University of Viçosa, Brazil, examined alternatives for gestating and lactating sow diets.

PCVD – From pathogenesis to protection Part 2. Pathogenesis of PCV2 infections and PMWS
Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) infections are common around the world. Still, PCV2 is a virus with a lot of secrets. Step by step, this second episode of our ‘PCVD – From pathogenesis to protection’ series, will uncover the mysteries of the virus.

Group housing for sows
2. Different housing systems examined
Well over 20 years now, the European livestock industry has been experimenting with loose sow housing. In short, it allows gestating sows to walk around freely instead of spending their days in a crate all day until farrowing. In this second episode of the series ‘Group housing for sows’, Pig Progress investigates the two most common sow management systems.

Australia: new pig code
Australian consumers have benefited from cost effective and high quality pig meats supplied from intensive production systems. This, however, has come at too high a price according to the animal welfare lobby. This summer, a new model code of practice for pigs was drafted.

The importance of cleaning and disinfection control
Many pig farmers are familiar with modern cleaning and disinfection protocols. However, these protocols are often not applied correctly. Research done by the Animal Health Care Flanders (DGZ), Belgium, shows that the use of microbiologic monitoring which has been applied in the poultry sector for a long time – is also applicable in pig houses to check the efficacy of the cleaning and disinfection procedure.

The perception of biosecurity on swine farms in Spain
One of the major tasks for veterinarians is to give advice to farmers on how to enhance biosecurity on their farms. Therefore, it is good to know what the farmers themselves perceive as the most important issues in biosecurity. This led to a group of Spanish researchers who collected data from 172 farms in Spain to gain a better view of that perception.