A swine dysentery model for evaluation of drug prophylaxis: development of a model involving oral infection plus pen contamination.

To overcome some of the inadequacies of the classic artificial swine dysentery (SD) model that is frequently used to judge the efficacy of drugs in preventing SD, a model has been developed that produces SD comparable with natural infections that are frequently encountered in commercial pig production facilities. The model is a combination of a single oral infection (OI) plus pen contamination (PC), conducted each night for 25 nights. Results with OI alone, PC alone, and OI + PC have been compared, and the new model (OI + PC) produced consistent, homogeneous, and severe SD with 100% morbidity and 92% mortality.