Abstract

Analyses made at slaughter demonstrated a significant correlation between chronic adhesive pleurisy and gastric ulcers in finishers. No correlation was found between gastric changes and Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection.

Results demonstrated a significant correlation between the type of diet fed to the pigs and gastric changes: finishers fed a purchased diet were more often found to have a gastric index of 6-10 compared with finishers fed a diet mixed on-farm.

In this trial, lungs and stomachs from 1,518 finishers were examined. The trial comprised an average of 27 finishers from 56 farms all with a high prevalence of chronic adhesive pleurisy. 

Analyses showed that 19.3% of the pigs had a gastric index of 8, 9 or 10. 19% of the pigs had mycoplasma-like lung changes; 5% had developed lung changes consistent with pleuropneumonia; and 59% of the pigs suffered from chronic adhesive pleurisy.

Stomachs, lungs and lymphatic tissue were subject to an immunohistochemical test for PCV2 infection; results revealed that 18% of the finishers were PCV2 positive in one or more of the examined tissue.

In conclusion, gastric changes, lung changes and PCV2 were detected in the finishers examined in this trial. The correlation between gastric changes and lung changes and PCV2 in each finisher was subject to statistical analysis. The analysis included data on feeding and herd.