Ways of infection and symptoms of Aujeszky's disease in pigs, treatment and prevention
Aujeszky's disease, or pseudorabies, is, unfortunately, a common disease in pigs and other livestock. Symptoms of the disease can manifest themselves in different ways, in some animals, fever develops sharply, itching and redness appear throughout the body, in others, paralysis and convulsions occur. The disease is widespread, the disease is contagious, animals need vaccination.
Disease prevalence
The deadly virus was first diagnosed, discovered and systematized in 1902 by the Hungarian scientist Aladar Aujeski. In 1938, the disease was officially included in the register of diseases of domestic animals. In our country, the first outbreaks of the disease were recorded at the beginning of the 20th century, at that time, farmers did not know how to deal with a fatal disease, the virus caused damage to households and livestock complexes. Aujeszky's contagion allowed the virus to kill livestock in a matter of weeks.
Causes of the disease
The causative agent of Aujeszky's disease is the Hegresviridae virus. The main causes of infection in livestock include:
- Lack of vaccinations.
- Infection from sick or recovered animals.
- Intrauterine infection of young animals.
- Infection through contaminated water, food, bedding.
- Transfer of disease by rodents and birds.
- From the corpses of dead animals.
On a note. An animal that has recovered from Aujeszky becomes a virus carrier and, upon contact with other individuals, is able to transmit the pathogen within 3 years after the illness. Pseudo-rabies viruses do not respond to antibiotics and survive in bedding and slurry for three months.
Aujeszky's symptoms and forms
The incubation period of the disease is up to 20 days. During this period of time, the virus matures and settles in the body of an infected animal. The first signs of an incipient disease include:
- Anxiety of the animal.
- Decreased appetite, refusal to eat.
- The defeat of the respiratory system: flow from the nose, cough, the release of a large amount of saliva, frequent intermittent breathing.
In the presence of immunity to ailment, animals can get sick with pseudo-rabies in a latent form, but often pigs undergo a severe course of the disease, enter a coma: convulsions begin, head thrown back, fever. The infected pig loses its orientation in space, the animal starts vomiting, diarrhea with blood. The deadly virus celebrates its final victory at the moment of damage to the host's central nervous system.
With the further development of the disease, the following signs of Aujeszky occur:
- The aggressiveness of animals towards humans.
- Vomiting, bloody diarrhea.
- Gait disorder, teeth grinding.
- Partial paralysis.
- Fever.
- Epileptic seizures.
With the course of the disease, animals develop cerebral and pulmonary edema. Veterinarians identify three forms of Aujeszky's disease in pigs:
- mixed;
- oglum-like;
- epileptic.
The epileptic form is especially difficult, the nervous system is affected in a sick animal, seizures begin: the animal squeals, throws back its head, the pupils dilate, then paralysis and death occurs. The oglum-like form is most often found in young animals. In piglets, the shape of the skull is bent, the animal cannot walk normally, the gait is noticeably disturbed, then there are consequences from the gastrointestinal tract: vomiting, diarrhea with blood.
The mixed form includes the defeat of all systems in the body. The animal experiences sharp deviations in health, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, purulent flow from the eyes and nose, fever and convulsions. Piglets under 1 month old die in 99% of cases. If the embryos are infected in utero, then sows may miscarry or stillbirth, and the fetuses may be partially mummified.
Diagnostic rules
It is possible to determine the presence of the virus in animals only in laboratory conditions. Blood is taken from infected individuals, from the dead - pieces of internal organs, lymph nodes, brain and spinal cord, virological and serological tests are carried out.
The placenta is taken from aborted sows for examination. When researching, it is important to take into account the complete clinic of the disease, to highlight the periods of the most acute course of the disease. It should be remembered that a clear sign of the disease in cattle and other animals is itching and scratching of the skin on the body. For pigs, this symptom is not typical, the virus infects the respiratory system in the first place, and most often passes in the form of pneumonia or flu, which often interferes with the correct diagnosis of the disease.
How to treat Auescu in pigs?
With all the severity of the disease, it is still possible to save the infected animals, while there are no specific medicines against Aujeszky. Veterinarians have identified several treatment regimens for the deadly disease and ways to alleviate the condition of animals, but a proven remedy for pseudo-rabies is vaccination and immunization of pigs on the farm before outbreaks of infection.
Pharmacy products
To date, there is no drug against Aujeszky; antibiotics in the treatment of false rabies virus in piglets are powerless even in combination with convalescent sera. Positive results have been recorded in the treatment of pigs with hyperimmune sera in combination with gamma globulin.
The officially recognized vaccine against Aujeszky is considered to be VGNKI, in farm complexes where cases of Aujeszky's infection have been recorded, piglets are vaccinated from two days of age. In addition to the dry vaccine VGNKI, Porcilis and other inactivated drugs are often used.
Folk recipes
There are no popular ways to cure the deadly virus. To maintain the immunity of animals, it is important to formulate a balanced diet for pigs, taking into account the breed and conditions of detention; in the winter-spring period, it is important to introduce vitamin premixes as an additive to food.
It should also be remembered that after suffering a disease, the animal remains a carrier of the virus. In farms where the death of animals and cases of disease are recorded, it is necessary to introduce quarantine.
Prevention measures
Prevention measures against the disease include:
- Regular disinfection of premises.
- Quarantine for recovered animals.
- Vaccination.
- Immunization.
- Preventive examinations of animals by veterinary services.
Timely vaccinations, high-quality care of the pigsty, a properly composed diet for piglets is the goal and task of the farmer, the daily growth of young animals, the health and productivity of animals will depend on the quality of the feed.
