Swine Erysipelas

Swine Erysipelas is an infectious disease in pigs caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in pigs at all age.The bacteria mainly invade the gastrointestinal tract, some enter through wounds in the skin and mucous membranes. The disease occurs round the year. In winter-spring the prevalence of the disease is high especially if the resistance of pigs is decreased

1. Etiology
Swine Erysipelas is an infectious disease in pigs caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in pigs at all age.The bacteria mainly invade the gastrointestinal tract, some enter through wounds in the skin and mucous membranes.
The disease occurs round the year. In winter-spring the prevalence of the disease is high especially if the resistance of pigs is decreased
2. Symptoms
- Acute form:
Pigs manifested :
+ High temparature (40-42.5⁰C), lasting 2-5 days
+ Weak hind legs with incoodination gait
+ Eye conjunctivitis, red eyes, ocular discharge
+ Dyspnea.
+ Constipation stool then turns to black with small amount of mucus, vomiting eventually diarrhea.
+ Red spots develop on the skin of neck, chest, abdomenthen turn into large areas with many different shapes (squares, diamon shaped canarium fruit shaped) similar to the seals on the skins. If secondary infection to the disease occur, the skin becomes inflammtory, dry, necrotic and slough off.
Chronic form: In chronic form typical symptoms included:
+ Endocarditis: heart valves are ulcerated, scabrous like cauliflower, pulmonary edema.
+ Arthritis: arthritis in foot and knee joints lead to scabrous heads of bone, swollen joint capsules.
+ Necrosis skin: the skin of back, abdomen, thighs, shoulders, head is necrotic and ulcerated
- Skin form:
The disease lasts 7-12 days with subclinical signs.
+ on skin of back hips and neck appear swelling, inflammation in some areas where initially is colorless then turn grayish red, the swollen, inflammatory areas are in square, triangular, hexagonal shape next to the points of swelling on the surface of the skin

Image of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae bacteria under microscope

Hemorrhage in pig's skin and creates redness quadrangle, squares, rectangles

3. Lesions
- Acute form: At necropsy, acutely infected pigs may exhibit Petechial hemorrhages on the gastric mucosa, congestion in lungs and liver, infarctions in spleen and kidneys and skin lesions may be seen

- Chronic form: Affected joints may be enlarged, injured and proliferative, injured ligament and reduced viscosity of synovial fluid. Petechial hemorrhages and necrosis in kiney cortex and melldula may be present. Skin that is necrotic and slough may be seen. The infected chicken may manifest splenmenogaly with darker spleen, valvular endocarditis

The appearance of milky particles, linking the scabrous particles like cauliflower in a heart valve

4. Prevention
- Vaccination: MAR-APPS.VAC vaccine is given.
- Prevention by using drugs: Antibiotics are mixed into premix: Marflomix, premix Doxy 2%, Tylval mix at dose recommended by the manufacturer per direction on label of the package
Electrolytes are supplemented, improvement of resistance to pigs is carried out by mixing some of the following products: Electrolyte glucose- K-C solution, Lacto-Mar, Marphasol herbs, 39-vita-amin.
Active prevention is performed by application of biosafe preventive measures: animal houses should be ventilated in summer and warm in winter, enhancing nutrition reeding pigs should be bought from guarantee farms, isolation housing should be established and sick animals should be isolated at least for 8 weeks, limiting visitors, use of equipment for labor protection, not borrowing instruments from other farms, performing " import and export of pigs at the same time" and leaving houses empty, regularly disinfecting houses.

Figures of several medical products

5. Treatment: There are no drugs to treat this disease sucessfully. Some drugs for improvement of resistance, and symptomatic and prevention of infectious are mainly used. The following steps can be applied:
Step 1: Disinfectants are sprayed once every 2 days
Step 2: Immediate swine fever vaccine must be given to healthy pigs (to avoid secondary infection of swine fever)
Step 3: Mix PARAMAR-C-glucose and electrolytes -K-C for oral administration
Step 4: Broad-spectrum such as MARPHAMOX-GEN LA (or MARPHAMOX-LA, MARFLO-LA) is injected an injection has long-acting for 48 hours along with antipyretics, and drugs for improving resistance: Gluco-K-C-NAMIN or MARNAGIN-C.
Step 5: MARFLOMIX, MARDOXY PREMIX is administered or in conjunction with glucose-electrolyte-K-C or MARPHASOL-HERBAL, B-COMPLEX during course of treatment.