Exudative dermatitis is a common disease in piglets under 8 weeks of age, caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus hyicus. Effective treatment steps, including how to clean the skin, inject antibiotics, and provide supplements can protect piglet’s health and productivity.
Exudative dermatitis is a common disease in piglets. This disease causes a serious deterioration of health and can lead to death in piglets. Early detection and timely treatment will help to minimize the economic damage to animals.
I. REASON
Exudative dermatitis in piglets is a disease caused by Staphylococcus hyicus bacteria in piglets, piglets under 8 weeks old are susceptible to this disease. Staphylococcus hyicus bacteria are often present in the living environment of piglets, when the skin is damaged (due to scratches, bites or scratches from straw bedding, sawdust) when encountering favorable conditions, the resistance of piglets is reduced, bacteria multiply in large numbers and cause disease in piglets.
Newborn and weaned piglets can be affected at high rates due to the high number of Staphylococcus hyicus bacteria in the sow’s vagina in the days before farrowing.
Scabies is also a primary cause of the disease.
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II. SYMPTOMS
The initial signs of a pig infected with dermatitis are lethargy, sluggishness, lack of movement, and loss of appetite. These signs often appear simultaneously in the entire litter or part of the litter.
Next, the skin appears red, mainly in thin skin areas such as the armpits, groin, and abdomen, but the pig does not itch or have a fever. Brown spots appear, 1-2 cm in diameter, surrounded by serum and inflammatory exudate on the face and head. Over time, the spots turn from brown to black due to necrosis.
The typical symptoms of the disease are rapid, dense growth of papules on the skin, which then rupture to form a slimy, oozing membrane, but are not itchy. The disease leads to dehydration, slow growth, and sometimes death. The incidence rate is 10-90%, the mortality rate is 5-90%. The bacteria also produce toxins that attack and damage the liver and kidney systems.
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In acute cases, the inflamed skin patches spread rapidly and form into clumps, patches on the skin and then spread throughout the body within 24-48 hours. The inflamed patches can peel off leaving ulcerated skin patches filled with inflammatory exudate. Piglets become severely dehydrated, lose electrolytes and can lead to death.
Piglets can develop ulcers in the mouth and on the tongue.
Morbidity and mortality are highest in piglets less than 8 weeks of age. Piglets older than 8 weeks usually have only a few lesions on the head, and infected piglets do not die but grow slowly.
Adult piglets occasionally have a few brown inflammatory nodules appearing on the back and flanks.
III. TREATMENT REGIMEN
When piglets are found to be infected with exudative dermatitis, depending on the prognosis of each pig, it is determined whether or not to treat it. Because some cases are so severe, it is better to cull them to avoid spreading than to treat them.
After removing the piglets that are too weak or too sick, farmers treat them as follows:
– Isolate sick piglets from the herd to avoid spreading the disease to other piglets in the herd.
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– Clean and disinfect the barn, keep it dry and clean.
– For diseased skin areas, people can boil betel leaves and use iodine to clean the pig, then dry it and apply iodine alcohol or methylene blue to the pig’s ulcerated skin areas.
– Inject antibiotics into each sick pig with one of the following products: Penstrep 400, Penstrep 400 La, Ceftionel 50, Linspectin, Interspectin L, Amoxcin 150 La, Biogenta, etc. according to the dosage instructions on the product packaging for 3-5 days.
– Dexasone injection for anti-inflammation and anti-allergy according to the manufacturer’s instructions
– Inject Intermectin to prevent and treat scabies, because scabies is also a predisposing cause of the disease.
– Supplement Sorbacin or Detoxin to detoxify the liver and kidneys
Use the above medicines according to the manufacturer’s instructions for 3-5 days.
These information help farmers better understand about causes, symptoms, how to treat and prevent exudative dermatitis to protect the health of their piglets.