Diagnosis and treatment of porcine arthritis

Analysis on the diagnosis and treatment of porcine arthritis A relatively headache problem in farms is the frequent occurrence of pig claudication, and arthritis is an important cause of pig lameness. The disease is caused by bacteria or mycoplasma infection in the joints and their surrounding tissues. It causes serious losses to the production of pig farms, such as slower growth rate, lower feed conversion rate, lower reproductive performance of breeding pigs and lower lactation ability of sows, and may even cause death in some cases. Other causes of claudication in pigs include nutritional imbalance or lack of nutrition, injury of hooves and legs caused by trauma, inappropriate structure and claudication caused by degenerative changes in bones and joints. The author has been engaged in veterinary clinical work for many years. combined with the current practice of pig production in our district, the diagnosis and treatment of porcine arthritis is summarized as follows, and discussed with the majority of pig owners and veterinarians, hoping to effectively control pig arthritis and reduce the loss of pig farms. Improve the economic benefits of pig production. Streptococcus arthrosis streptococcus can cause acute and chronic arthritis in pigs of all ages. It is most common in piglets and is thought to be part of the arthropathy syndrome associated with umbilical infection. Relevant data show that most of the strains isolated from natural arthritis cases belong to group C streptococci (like Streptococcus equi), group L or group D (streptococcosis). Streptococcal infections can occur in many cases. Streptococci are common in vaginal secretions, respiratory secretions and breast milk. Streptococcus can be isolated from the tonsils of clinically healthy piglets. Bacteria can be infected through the navel, damaged skin or hooves or tonsils. Rough ground and padding can wear away the skin of suckling or nurturing piglets' legs, and streptococci can easily be infected from these damaged wounds. The incidence of arthritis caused by streptococci is generally low, usually less than 5%. A small number of infected pigs may die from septicemia (pathogens in the blood) or from diseases related to limitation of activity (such as hunger, squeeze, etc.). Clinical symptoms: acute streptococcal infection is characterized by fever, rough coat, depression and lameness. With the development of the disease, pigs lose weight, one or more infected joints are obviously swollen, the most common swelling sites are the knee, elbow and tarsal joint. Disease-related pain and the resulting movement disorders limit the growth of diseased pigs. Infected pigs usually grow stagnant and suffer from chronic arthritis all their lives. The diseased joint contains an increasing amount of misty synovial fluid with fibrin clots, swelling, discoloration and redness of the articular membrane, and thickening of the connective tissue cyst around the joint, possibly with a small abscess. Articular cartilage can also be damaged when arthritis becomes chronic. There are also lesions in the growth epiphysis of the bone. Other symptoms of systemic infection can be observed. Diagnosis: 1 sudden claudication, joint swelling and fever in 3-week-old piglets may be strep arthritis. The pathological changes of joints and bones have the significance of syndrome differentiation. After streptococcal infection, systemic lesions can occur with arthritis, such as swollen lymph nodes, hyperemia, polyseritis, pneumonia or meningitis. Streptococcus can be isolated from acute inflamed joints by bacterial culture. Prevention and treatment: penicillin is recommended for treatment. The treatment effect is the best at the initial stage of the disease; if the inflammation becomes chronic, the treatment effect is very poor. Can be vaccinated to prevent streptococcal arthritis. Pregnant sows inoculated with streptococcal vaccine can provide passive protection for piglets through breast milk. Porcine erysipelas can infect pigs of all ages. In chronic cases, the main manifestations are arthritis, endocarditis or inflammation of the heart valve. The pathogen is erysipelas suis, and its virulence varies greatly. Some pigs will not produce any symptoms after infection; some pigs may have mild symptoms; some pigs may be seriously infected and cause a large number of deaths. Clinical symptoms: pigs with chronic erysipelas arthritis have loss of appetite, stiffness, claudication and inactivity. In order to relieve the pain, the center of gravity is often shifted from one leg to the other; the limbs may contract under the abdomen, showing a hunched back, unwilling to stand or unable to stand at all. Chronic arthritis can affect one or more joints and affect the activity of pigs to varying degrees. Affected joints may be significantly swollen and stiff; joint synovium swelling, discoloration, connective tissue hyperplasia and inflammatory leukocyte infiltration; lesions can spread to ligaments and tendon sheaths around joints. The synovial fluid increases from red to brown, and the cartilage at the end of the joint may be severely eroded and necrotic. The bone at the edge of the joint proliferates, so that the joint cannot be bent. The lymph nodes in the diseased joints were significantly swollen. Diagnosis: porcine erysipelas arthritis can be diagnosed by isolating bacteria from the joint, but it is difficult. Severe chronic inflammation of the articular membrane and surrounding tissue and the injury of bone and articular cartilage are of diagnostic significance. In pigs with a history of acute swine erysipelas, if chronic arthritis occurs, it can almost be diagnosed. Prevention and treatment: can be vaccinated against porcine erysipelas. However, the preventive effect of immunization on chronic arthritis is not ideal. Penicillin is recommended for the treatment of acute porcine erysipelas. If the acute stage is treated properly, chronic arthritis will rarely occur. In pigs with chronic arthritis, the effect of treatment is not good. Corticosteroids can temporarily relieve the symptoms of arthritis, but do not affect the final outcome of arthritis. Three mycoplasma arthritis two kinds of mycoplasma can cause arthritis in pigs. Mycoplasma suis can cause acute arthritis in pigs over 10 weeks old. Mycoplasma suis can cause acute and chronic polyseritis and arthritis in pigs aged 10 weeks, sometimes infecting adult pigs. These two kinds of mycoplasma can be isolated from the nasal cavity, throat and lungs of infected pigs. 1 Porcine synovial mycoplasma arthritis caused by porcine synovial mycoplasma is mainly caused by Mycoplasma suis in 24-week-old pigs and can also occur in young adult pigs. Pigs of any breed can occur, but lean pigs and breeds with poorly developed legs seem to be more susceptible to infection and have more severe symptoms. Joint degeneration (osteochondrosis) may be a very important inducing factor of this disease. At present, it is generally believed that stress such as mixed group, transportation or temperature change are the inducing factors of the disease. It is often found that boars introduced with 7Mel within 10 days are prone to synovial mycoplasma arthritis. Clinical symptoms: synovial mycoplasma disease is characterized by sudden lameness in one or more legs. The severity and duration of claudication vary, usually lasting for 10 days. Sometimes the intense pain deters the sick pig from walking around with its infected legs. The infection of hindlimb is characterized by lameness, frequent bending of infected limb, transfer of center of gravity and change of posture. Sometimes stand on the back of the hoof. Forelimb infection is characterized by lameness, rigor or kneeling at ball joints. It is difficult for infected pigs to stand or cannot stand at all. With the exception of tarsal joint infection, joint swelling is usually not seen. Pigs may have mild loss of appetite and slight increase in body temperature. Acute synovial mycoplasma arthritis causes joint swelling, filled with large amounts of turbid, yellow to brown fluid; the membrane around the joint is thickened and yellow to red; the membrane is granular or velvet; the tissue around the joint is swollen and the tendon sheath is inflamed. Articular cartilage is usually normal. Diagnosis: the age of infected pigs, sudden claudication and the nature of the lesions are the basis of the preliminary diagnosis. Joint fluid can be sent to the laboratory for microbiological testing. Porcine synovial fluid mycoplasma can be isolated from about 50% of acutely infected joints. It is difficult to isolate pathogens from chronic cases or pigs treated with antibiotics. Prevention and treatment: operations that may cause stress reactions should be minimized during the susceptible stage of pigs. Breeding pigs should choose those with good leg structure and normal movement. Avoid buying breeding pigs in pig farms with severe arthritis. At present, the most effective antibiotic against Mycoplasma synovium is Mycoplasma mycoplasma. Tylosin and lincomycin are also effective in the treatment of mycoplasma infection in porcine synovial fluid. The therapeutic effect is ideal in the acute stage of infection. Some data show that drug administration through feed or drinking water can also effectively prevent or treat Mycoplasma infection in porcine synovial fluid. The use of corticosteroids can relieve pain associated with arthritis. At present, there is no vaccine to prevent porcine synovial mycoplasmal arthritis. 2 porcine rhinitis mycoplasma arthritis Mycoplasma porcine rhinitis is a common settlement bacteria in pig nasal cavity, and it is also a common secondary infection bacteria causing porcine pneumonia. Mycoplasma rhinitis can sometimes cause serosa inflammation and arthritis in pigs. Clinical symptoms: the initial symptoms of Mycoplasma porcine rhinitis infection are rough coat and varying degrees of depression. With the development of the disease, obvious pain in the abdomen and chest can be observed. pigs often lie in the abdomen, have a decreased appetite and a slight increase in body temperature. Some diseased pigs show claudication and swollen joints. Arthritis usually lasts at least six months, leading to claudication and reduced flexibility. The clinical features of claudication vary depending on the severity of the disease and the joints involved. The amount of synovial fluid in the articular cavity increased and changed color, and the articular membrane swelled, showing yellow to red. There may be cellulose clots in the synovial fluid. Diagnosis: arthritis associated with polyserositis (peritonitis, pleurisy and pericarditis) in 3Mel 10-week-old pigs is likely to be Mycoplasma porcine rhinitis infection. Mycoplasma can be isolated from joint synovial fluid related to arthritis or from body cavity exudates. Attention should be paid to distinguishing from polyserositis and arthritis caused by Haemophilus parasuis. Prevention and treatment: stress response and other diseases can make pigs more likely to be infected with Mycoplasma porcine rhinitis, so stress should be reduced and diseases should be controlled. There is no effective treatment, and there is no effective vaccine for prevention. Mycoplasma pneumoniae vaccine can not induce cross-protection against Mycoplasma porcine rhinitis. Systemic infections of arthritis bacteria associated with other septic infections such as Haemophilus parasuis and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae can usually cause arthritis. Haemophilus parasuis, also known as Glazer's disease, is characterized by inflammation of the pleura, pericardium and abdominal cavity, joints and meninges. Systemic lymph nodes and abdominal organs can show general septicemia. Arthritis is very obvious, synovial fluid increases, discoloration, and there is inflammation of the articular membrane connecting the joint cavity. Similar symptoms can also be seen in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. The diagnosis of bacterial septicemia with arthritic manifestations is usually based on postmortem pathological changes and isolation of pathogens. Treatment must be carried out in the early stages of the disease and penicillin or sulfonamides can be used. You can also consider using vaccines for prevention. Fifth, the bite of the arthritic tail or other parts such as the ear related to tail bite and ear bite provides an opportunity for pathogenic microorganisms to invade the blood. Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium pyogenes are the most common pathogens that cause this arthritis. The control of tail biting needs to strengthen management, provide a good environment and provide nutritionally balanced feed. The treatment of arthritis caused by tail biting is not ideal. In the actual production, the problems encountered are often more complex and lack of diagnostic means, so it is necessary to understand the overall situation of the pig farm and accumulate considerable clinical experience, and consider a variety of factors in detail as much as possible in the process of diagnosis. and then make an accurate judgment; if necessary, diseased joints and other diseased materials can be sent for pathogen isolation and identification. In the actual treatment, the problem of combined use of drugs should be considered, but the indiscriminate use of drugs should be resolutely put an end to, and drug sensitivity tests should be done under conditional conditions. Comprehensive treatment measures should be taken to do a good job in sanitary disinfection and strengthen daily feeding and management in order to effectively control arthritis in pig farms and really improve the production efficiency of pig farming. -- instructive. -- good, but we should say more about the arthritis caused by Haemophilus parasitophilus. At present, there are many infections and it is difficult to treat them.