Ileitis: whats new?

A guide for pig producers and veterinarians

Dynamic cellular entry and release of Lawsonia intracellularis from infected ileum intestinal lining

Lawsonia intracellularis (ileitis) and pig production

Ileitis is caused by the bacterium Lawsonia intracellularis and infection has a serious detrimental impact on the productivity and profitability of pig production units around the world. can trigger acute and chronic enteric disease including severe diarrhoea, loss of performance and weight. These conditions result in a lack of uniformity between individuals in groups of growing pigs. Freedom from ileitis and Lawsonia infection is highly desirable as it can reduce costs, minimise losses and improve productivity performance.

Lawsonia is a primary gut invader that

A truly global challenge

Studies tracing the prevalence of ileitis across the globe show that ileitis affects most farms in Europe, Asia, as well as North and South America. This makes ileitis a truly global problem. (refer figure 1). In all of these key pig-raising areas, detailed surveys using serology tests as well as PCR reactions (using faeces) have shown that only 4 to 5 % of farms are now free of the disease. This means that every day, on 94 to 95 % of farms,

Lawsonia - positive pigs are busy spreading the disease via their infected faeces.
As a result, the negative impact of ileitis tends to peak in finisher pigs.

Figure 1: Global prevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis infection1

Country France UK Spain Italy Germany Belgium Netherlands Denmark Poland Portugal USA Canada Mexico Argentina Brazil Venezuela Japan Korea China Thailand Philippines 2000 % farms 77 95 73 67 73 81 84 94 65 57 96 95 97 68 96 91 68 96 80 99 86 2000 % pigs 35 62 38 31 31 38 33 30 23 31 60 60 44 20 22 31 34 54 71 38 42 2008 % farms 96 93 98 100 96 85 88 100 100 100 96 93 95 85 95 92 85 95 71 100 100 2008 % pigs 85 64 71 100 83 67 83 95 83 63 55 55 54 35 33 43 35 55 67 43 45

These prevalence figures indicate that ileitis is not going away. In fact, in many countries, an increase has been observed. This increase may be due to tighter restrictions on the routine use of antibiotics.

Lawsonia and breeding stock

On many breeding farms, across all the major breeding companies, there are significant numbers of Lawsonia-positive sows and boars. As yet, no breeding company has been able to include ileitis as part of its high health certificate status. So, while producers can sometimes buy great breeding pigs that are certified free of swine dysentery and Mycoplasma, no such guarantee exists for ileitis. Attempts to eradicate ileitis from production farms have generally failed. The few farms that have been proven negative for Lawsonia have tended to be isolated breeding farms without finisher pigs.

Western-bred pigs spread ileitis in Asian herds

In the past few years, there has been a major expansion of breeding pig numbers moving from America and Europe to Asia. Pig breeding companies are now global operations with monthly shipments to China, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines not uncommon. In many Asian countries, these breeding companies have also set up subsidiary operations with nucleus and multiplier herds stocking their best pig lines. Just in the last few years China has imported tens of thousands of sows from the USA, Canada and France. Many other Asian producers have also switched from local breeds to the leaner western pigs offered by global pig breeding companies. These pigs offer the quicker, leaner meat growth and improved carcass quality more suited to the palate of urban consumers. This trend towards rearing western pigs has sponsored a major shift in Asian pork production away from backyard farms in favour of larger intensive units. More western disease is occurring throughout Asia including ileitis. As a result many Asian pig producers see becoming positive for ileitis as among the key issues for consideration when deciding whether to switch to western pigs

In China there is a rapid spread of imported breeding pigs

Imported pigs arriving in Asia on a Chinese flight

Medication for ileitis treatment and control

New knowledge about the best antibiotics to use against ileitis has solidified in the past decade. In the 1990s a range of antibiotics was tested to decide which ones might be the most effective against the disease with six products considered as potential candidates for ileitis treatment.2 Further research involving laboratory studies (MIC data analysis), and pig trials, revealed that two of these antibiotics stood out as most effective for ileitis control. Of these two products, tiamulin (Denagard) has the best (lowest) MIC figures and has consistently proven its excellent performance in challenge studies and in field trials round the world.2

Checking Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) data

Optimising the timing of ileitis treatment

We now have a better understanding of ileitis strikes on pig farms. Diagnostic studies have confirmed that in most European and Asian farms, ileitis spreads among pigs at around 6 to 9 weeks old while the young pigs are still in the nursery or weaner stages. In contrast, in most American farms, the major ileitis spread happens some weeks later, at around 12 to 16 weeks old. Knowing the point of peak infection gives veterinarians and producers a clear indication when to time their prevention programs in order to achieve optimal efficacy. Tiamulin (Denagard) should be given one or two weeks after the onset of the peak infection period, to have the greatest impact and the longest lasting effect. Starting antibiotic treatment after exposure to the pathogen allows young pigs to develop naturally acquired immunity without developing clinical disease. This means the herd can remain free of clinical disease throughout the production cycle.

Medicated feed delivery to farm in China

Figure 2: Typical timing of peak spread of ileitis (Europe/Asian farms)

100 90 % pigs testing sero-positive for L. intracellularis 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Figure 2 (left) illustrates the progress of a typical ileitis attack in Asian and European farms. In the USA, the rise in ileitis infection typically occurs after the nursery stage has been completed. On Spanish farms, where the situation illustrated in figure 2 is the norm, Denagard premix formula has been used at 9 to 12 weeks of age to successfully reduce the clinical and sub-clinical signs of ileitis and improve overall pig performance.3 This better knowledge of suitable medications and when to give them has definitely had a positive impact on pig production by reducing the overall levels of ileitis infection.
This report was prepared in conjunction with Professor Steven McOrist, BVSc, PhD, MACVSc, DipECPHM

Nursery

Typical treatment phase

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References: 1. McOrist S, Barcellos DE, Wilson RJ. 2003. Global patterns of porcine proliferative enteropathy. Pig Journal 51, 26-35. (Updated data on file). 2. Wattanaphansak S, Singer RS, Gebhart CJ. 2009. In vitro antimicrobial activities against 10 North American and European Lawsonia intracellularis isolates. Veterinary Microbiology 134, 305-310 3. Cefusa Farm Veterinary Group (data on file). Novartis Animal Health Inc., PO Box CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland. Tel: +41 61 697 73 88 Fax: +41 61 697 67 88 www.denagard.com Denagard is a registered trademark of Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland. Label indications, dosage rates and withdrawal periods may vary by country. Please refer to label in your country for approved usage instructions. 2009 Novartis Animal Health Inc. 200900086-1