Swine Ileitis

Swine ileitis or proliferative enteropathy is a common enteric disease of grow-finish pigs. The primary causative agent is the bacteria Lawsonia intracellularis. The acute form of ileitis causes a sudden onset of diarrhea with inflammation in the ileum of the small intestine and the colon, and even death. The chronic form of ileitis causes persistent diarrhea and/or progressive weight loss.

Clinical signs of swine ileitis include watery to pasty, brownish or faintly bloodstained feces. Even though a pig may not show clinical signs of ileitis, it often tests positive for the bacteria that cause it. A serological survey conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System in 2000 found that 96.2 percent of tested U.S. herds were positive for L. intracellularis, while 37 percent were clinically infected. The presence of these bacteria, even if they don’t cause outward signs of ileitis, can take a toll on the performance of growing pigs by a decrease in weight gain.

In a 2002 paper titled “Thinking Strategically About Control Points for Diagnostics; Details of Six Specific Swine Diseases,” Tom Fangman, DVM, MS, Dipl ABVP-SHM, swine focus team at the University of Missouri-Columbia, says the following management situations are thought to predispose pigs to outbreaks of ileitis:

• Young adult pigs (four to 12 months of age) involved in boar and gilt performance testing programs
• Gilts within breeding programs that involve transporting them to new facilities
• The movement and mixing of boars and gilts into breeding groups
• Times of social and environmental stresses
• Periods of extreme weather, where extreme temperature swings between night and day occur, along with hot humid weather

Treatment of this swine disease with an antimicrobial is often successful in reducing the severity of ileitis and helps to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Denagard® 10 Medicated Premix from Novartis Animal Health is a proven, broad-spectrum antibiotic that is effective in controlling ileitis. In addition to controlling ileitis, Denagard 10 and chlortetracycline (CTC) is approved for concurrent use to provide enteric and respiratory disease coverage, respectively.

To learn more about swine ileitis and Denagard, contact your veterinarian, your Novartis representative or a Novartis professional service veterinarian.

Caution: Do not feed Denagard 10 undiluted. Do not use in feeds for animals other than swine. Not for use in swine weighing over 250 lbs. Contraindications: Swine being treated with Denagard (tiamulin) should not have access to feeds containing polyether ionophores (e.g., lasalocid, monensin, narasin, salinomycin and semduramicin) as adverse reactions may occur. See product label for directions for use and additional information.

Caution: Do not use Denagard Liquid Concentrate undiluted. Not for use in swine weighing over 250 lbs. Contraindications: Swine being treated with Denagard (tiamulin) should not have access to feeds containing polyether ionophores (e.g., lasalocid, monensin, narasin, salinomycin and semduramicin) as adverse reactions may occur. See product label for directions for use and additional information.