Juan Miguel Peralvo-Vidal1, Nicolai Rosager Weber2, Jens Peter Nielsen1, Matthew Denwood3, Svend Haugegaard4, Anni Øyan Pedersen5. 1. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Section for Production, Nutrition and Health, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 2, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. 2. SEGES Danish Pig Research Centre, Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Axeltorv 3, 1609, Copenhagen V, Denmark. 3. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Section for Animal Welfare and Disease Control, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 8, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. 4. Laboratory for Pig Diseases, SEGES Danish Pig Research Centre, Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Vinkelvej 13, 8620, Kjellerup, Denmark. 5. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Section for Production, Nutrition and Health, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 2, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. anni.oeyan@sund.ku.dk.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the within-herd prevalence of pars oesophageal ulcers (POU) in high-risk Danish herds using commercial diets. Furthermore, we aimed to estimate the association between gastric content fluidity and POU using a generalised additive model (GAM). The study included 200 clinically healthy nursery pigs randomly selected from ten farms (20 pigs from each farm). The 10 farms were selected based on a suspected high prevalence of gastric ulcers. Post-mortem gastric ulcer assessment was based on macroscopic lesions, and gastric content fluidity was assessed based on the solid particle sedimentation percentage (solid phase). RESULTS: We observed an overall prevalence of 35.5% for POU in nursery pigs. Within-herd prevalence varied considerably among farms, with values ranging from 0% in Farm 1 to 84% in Farm 4. Our model showed strong associations between POU and gastric content fluidity (P < 0.001), as well as between POU and farm of origin (P < 0.001). In addition, we observed that the risk of POU decreased non-linearly as the gastric content solid phase percentage increased, i.e. as the gastric content became more solid. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that pars oesophageal ulcers are present in Danish herds with nursery pigs fed commercial diets. Furthermore, we have established that gastric content fluidity is strongly associated with POU in nursery pigs. Even so, we cannot conclude that gastric content fluidity is solely responsible for POU. Future research should look into the association between pars oesophageal ulcers and both farm management activities and individual pig factors.
BACKGROUND: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the within-herd prevalence of pars oesophageal ulcers (POU) in high-risk Danish herds using commercial diets. Furthermore, we aimed to estimate the association between gastric content fluidity and POU using a generalised additive model (GAM). The study included 200 clinically healthy nursery pigs randomly selected from ten farms (20 pigs from each farm). The 10 farms were selected based on a suspected high prevalence of gastric ulcers. Post-mortem gastric ulcer assessment was based on macroscopic lesions, and gastric content fluidity was assessed based on the solid particle sedimentation percentage (solid phase). RESULTS: We observed an overall prevalence of 35.5% for POU in nursery pigs. Within-herd prevalence varied considerably among farms, with values ranging from 0% in Farm 1 to 84% in Farm 4. Our model showed strong associations between POU and gastric content fluidity (P < 0.001), as well as between POU and farm of origin (P < 0.001). In addition, we observed that the risk of POU decreased non-linearly as the gastric content solid phase percentage increased, i.e. as the gastric content became more solid. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that pars oesophageal ulcers are present in Danish herds with nursery pigs fed commercial diets. Furthermore, we have established that gastric content fluidity is strongly associated with POU in nursery pigs. Even so, we cannot conclude that gastric content fluidity is solely responsible for POU. Future research should look into the association between pars oesophageal ulcers and both farm management activities and individual pig factors.
Entities:
Keywords:
Ad libitum feeding; Gastric content; Gastric ulcer; Nursery pig; Pars oesophagea; Risk factor; Solid phase
Authors: Søren Saxmose Nielsen; Julio Alvarez; Dominique Joseph Bicout; Paolo Calistri; Elisabetta Canali; Julian Ashley Drewe; Bruno Garin-Bastuji; Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas; Gortázar Schmidt; Mette Herskin; Virginie Michel; Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca; Olaf Mosbach-Schulz; Barbara Padalino; Helen Clare Roberts; Karl Stahl; Antonio Velarde; Arvo Viltrop; Christoph Winckler; Sandra Edwards; Sonya Ivanova; Christine Leeb; Beat Wechsler; Chiara Fabris; Eliana Lima; Olaf Mosbach-Schulz; Yves Van der Stede; Marika Vitali; Hans Spoolder Journal: EFSA J Date: 2022-08-25