After solid progress in reducing the use of antimicrobials on hog farms, the progress has plateaued over the last two years, Jessica Fox told thee Big Bug seminar at Elora recently.
She was updating the hog producers on a study by the Ontario Pork Industry Council and its report in 3033.
The study gathered data from about 35 hog farms, veterinarians and feed mills.
The good news is that hardly any Schedule 1 antimicrobials were used, the ones that are crucial for human health.
Dr. Minh Man of the University of Guelph reported on trials which found that non-injection administration of iron dextrose via high-pressure air equipment was effective, but the equipment costs about $1,000 and is only recommended for dosages less than 10 c.c.
Dr. Melanie Boucher outlined a five-step process that has worked to reduce piglet sickness caused by Rotavirus, but is less conclusive with Sapovirus.
Both are common in Ontario hog herds and often in combination.
They interfere with digestion by damaging nutrient receptors in the small intestine and often result in diarrhea.
The approach she outlined involves harvesting infected feces, freezing them, conducting a lab test to determine the viruses and which types are present and, if so, feeding the frozen cubes back to pre-farrowing sows so they can generate protections in their piglets.
Usually these viruses fluctuate like a roller coaster, she said, and the five-step process provides steady protection, albeit fatr from 100 per cent protection.
“But even 50 per cent is better than nothing,” she said.
She worked with one farm that had a high degree of the two viruses and was able to significantly reduce death rates and improve weight gains.
